Key Verse: “Remember that the Lord your God led you on the entire journey these forty years in the wilderness, so that he might humble you and test you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.” (Deuteronomy 8:2 CSB)
When we are walking through difficult circumstances or painful trials, one of the questions we might find ourselves asking is: why is this happening to me? Why is God allowing this? It’s not an easy question to answer. But thankfully, God provides us through the Scriptures with some helpful perspective.
From the time the people left Egypt until now, they had been wandering in the wilderness. It was not an easy time for them. They faced many trials and hardships. Yet all throughout their entire journey, God continued to lead them. When they were hungry, He daily provided manna from heaven for them to eat and be satisfied. When they were thirsty, He gave them water to quench their thirst.
But even as He led them, they remained in the wilderness, where life was difficult. God did not allow them to immediately enter the Promised Land. Why? What was the reason why He made them wait for forty years before entering the land? It was, “so that he might humble you and test you to know was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands” (v.2). God led them through a season of hardship in order to do the necessary work in their hearts.
Moses told the people, “The Lord your God has been disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son” (v.5). The humbling and testing of the people was part of the loving hand of discipline from their Father in Heaven. Like anyone who has experienced discipline will say, “No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later, however, it yields a peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).
This is the target that God is aiming for, in them and in us. He is seeking to see the fruit of righteousness and obedience overflow from our hearts as we turn to God and submit to Him. God’s purpose in our seasons of hardship is to align our hearts again to His ways.
The Psalmist wrote, “Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word” (Psalm 119:67). Just a few verses later, he also said, “It was good for me to afflicted so that I could learn your statutes” (Psalm 119:71). That’s a radically different perspective on hardships. The good that comes through painful trials is that it can produce greater levels of faith and obedience, if we allow it.
What is God trying to teach you right now through the circumstances of your life? In what ways is He trying to bring into alignment the things that are crooked? What does obedience look like for you today?
Prayer: Father God, grant me a humble heart today, regardless of my circumstances. Help me to keep your word and walk in your ways. Thank you for your loving hand of discipline that seeks to reveal my heart and to yield a fruit of righteousness in my life. I choose to submit to you today. Amen.
Author: Jonathan Miller has served in pastoral roles for more than 13 years in churches in Barrie, Oakville and Burlington, Ontario. He currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Prison Fellowship Canada, a ministry that mobilizes and equips local churches to engage in the restorative work of prisoners, ex-prisoners, their families, and victims across Canada. Jon holds degrees from McMaster University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He and his wife Adrienne have been married since 2004, and live in Burlington, Ontario with their 4 children. Jon’s greatest passion is to know Jesus and to see lives transformed by Him and for Him.
