See I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore He would give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Deut. 1:8
All the troubles and difficulties we experience in life are designed by God to test us and to enable us to grow. Sometimes God teaches us to see suffering and setbacks as His tools to expose the sinful, self-centered attitudes in our lives. May we not be like the rebellious Israelites who never learned, who never repented, and so just died in the Wilderness. We need to turn from sinful attitudes and respond with true repentance to His testing so we may enjoy the double reward God promise to those who believe and obey Him.
As we read the Bible in Deuteronomy 1:8 God has promised he will give the Promised land in 11 days, but it took the Israelites 40 years because they didn¡¯t trust God completely in all their fears and doubts.
When God led the Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt the 11 day journey to The Promised Land took 40 years. God wanted the Hebrew people to move forward with absolute trust, but they wandered in the desert, going round the same mountain with their defeated and rebellious attitude. They were trapped in a poor defeated mentality, focusing on their problems, always complaining, and worrying about the obstacles between them and their destiny.
No matter what you¡¯ve gone through in the past, no matter how many setbacks you¡¯ve suffered, no matter who or what has tried to thwart your progress, today is a new day and God wants to do a new thing in your life. Don¡¯t let your past determine your future. Repent of any sins that may be causing trouble and blocking the Lord¡¯s blessings. Claim the forgiveness and cleansing God promises those who truly repent. And step out in faith believing that the Lord will answer your prayers if they¡¯re according to his will by advancing his kingdom.
The Bible promises, ¡°instead of your (formal) shame,¡± God will give us a ¡°double reward (Isaiah 61:7).¡± That means if you keep the right attitude, God will pay you back double for your trouble. He¡¯ll add up all the injustices, all the pain, abuse that people have caused you and pay you back with twice as much joy, peace and happiness. But you must do your part by repenting of any sins which may have caused the troubles and start anew expecting good things by trusting in the Lord¡¯s goodness.