Throughout Israel's wilderness wanderings, to test their hearts, God placed them in difficult situations. He desired to provide for them so they would come to have faith in, and depend on, him as God. In the plains of Moab, when Moses gave his second sermon, he said: "Remember all the way which Jehovah thy God hath led thee these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble thee, to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or not" (Deut. 8:2). God wanted these trials to result in their developing right ways of thinking. Their minds were to be conformed to His standards. He wanted them to learn to depend on him.
Today, God expects us to develop right ways of thinking. For this reason, the apostle Paul told the Corinthian Christians regarding the OT scriptures: "these things happened unto them by way of example; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come" (1 Cor.10:11). The word admonition is defined as "to correct the mind; to put right what is wrong; to improve the spiritual attitude ... it refers to instruction that corrects wrong ideas and urges one to follow the right pattern of conduct" (Mike Willis' commentary on I Cor. Pg. 269). In other words, we too are to learn from the things that happened to Israel in the wilderness. Through the various trials we face along the way to our heavenly home of rest, God is humbling and proving us (see James 1:2-4). Just as God chastised the children of Israel (Deut. 8:5) so their "thinking" would be right; even so, he chastens us today so our thinking will be right (Hebrews 12:5-13).
God desires that his people be holy (Lev. 11:44; Deut. 7:6; I Peter 1:16) and that they come to depend on him for sustenance (Deut. 8:3; Matt. 4:4). In Matt. 4:4, when the Devil tempted him in the wilderness, Jesus quoted Moses' words from Deuteronomy 8:3. The Devil suggested that, to sustain Himself, Jesus turn the stones to bread. Jesus replied: "Man does not live by bread alone, but by everything that proceedeth out of the mouth of Jehovah doth man live. Jesus' lesson taught that not in one way, or by one means, can life be sustained; but in the absence of physical things, God can, by his own feat, provide sustenance for His children" (Pulpit Commentary Vol. 3 pg. 152). Jesus knew this, but chose not to put God to the test as did the Israelites (Psalms 95:8-10).
God's people today must, through much tribulation, enter into His kingdom (Acts 14:22). We should not be confused people who think it strange "when we fall into manifold temptations (trials of life)" (James 1:2). God is humbling us. He is proving us. He is chastising us, all for the purpose of preparing us to enter into our promised inheritance, heaven. It is, after all, for this reason that Job, after enduring all that he did, exclaimed "But he knoweth the way that I take; when he hath tried me, shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:10).
As we go through our trials, God watches our reactions. Moses told Israel that God dragged them through the wilderness, humbled them, and proved them. Rest assured, dear Christian friend, God is doing the same humbling, proving, and chastening work today. Through it all, may we learn the truth of the words Jesus spoke so long ago. God is watching our reactions, and He desires that we depend on Him for the sustenance that will take us to heaven. Life does not free us from hardships because we obey the gospel. It "refines" us as we journey to higher ground!