(It takes 11 days to go from Mount Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by way of Mount Seir.) On the first day of the eleventh month in the fortieth year after they had left Egypt, Moses told the Israelites everything the Lord had commanded him to tell them.
Deuteronomy 1:2–3
The Israelites took forty years to make a trip that should have taken eleven days. Forty years! Can you imagine? It seems impossible, doesn’t it? But what about you—how long does it take you to learn what God wants to teach you? Have you been tested in the same thing over and over again? Do you see the same trials coming to you on a regular basis? If you say to yourself, “This keeps happening to me!” then it might be time to consider that you may be wandering in the desert because of your disobedience, and you aren’t going to get out until you get it—until you pass the test.
So look at your life. If there’s something you can’t get past, get over, or get away from, then it might just be time to take a fresh look at it from the perspective of God’s Word. Find out how you could act more like someone who agrees with Scripture and less like someone who agrees with their sinful side. Talk to God. Ask him what lesson you need to learn so that you can get out of your desert wanderings. As soon as you are willing to try things God’s way instead of insisting on your own way, you’ll be brought into your own promised land. So stop asking “Why me?” and start asking “What about me needs to be changed?” Let God’s Word be your guide, and choose to stop letting your emotions, your desires, or your dreams lead the way.