He Humbled Thee

"And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live." -Deuteronomy 8:3
Trials. Isn't it easy for us to stand before and after them and say how the Lord sent them to better us? I can't count the times that I've reassured someone in the midst of a trial that the Lord was using this hard time to grow that person spiritually or how many times I have received that same assurance.
When you're in the midst of the trial you really don't want to hear those assurances do you?
Two years ago I had really been struggling with believing that God would heal someone I knew who was very sick. I happened to go to youth camp that year with the teens from our church. On Wed. or Thurs. night I called my mother to tell her of all the amazing things that the Lord had done in our youth group and the camp that week. Our conversation later went to that one I knew that was ill. My mother assured me that if the Lord chose it, that one would, indeed, be healed. But, I didn't want to hear it. Finally, she said, "Bekah, think about what you've been telling me. You've told me how you've seen the Lord move mightily in the lives of these young people, but you don't believe he can heal this person?" (I am paraphrasing, by the way.)
I had my ears turned off to my mother's words of wisdom, even though, I had just been listing reasons for me to believe those words!
It states in this verse "he humbled thee" and "that he might make thee to know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord." The Lord doesn't send us through hard times so he can laugh at us. He does it to teach and train us, to better equip us to serve him.
When someone enters the military he has to participate in "Boot Camp." I don't know first hand, but I've heard it's one of the most grueling experiences one can endure. Those trials aren't meant to break the soldier, but to train and strengthen him that he'll better serve his country. Likewise, the Lord doesn't want to break us, but to mold us into excellent soldiers, capable of fighting in a spiritual war.
Could you imagine sending a soldier to the battlefield untrained? Now, that would be truly cruel!
I'm glad that I serve a Lord who doesn't find me to menial, but that He takes a personal interest in my life. He cares to try and purify me."
"But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." - Job 23:10
Please make me read this again the next time I am facing a trial!