26But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. 27You grumbled in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. 28Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.’ ”
29Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. 30The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”–Deuteronomy 1 (emphasis)
Think of Deuteronomy like parting words from Israel’s pastor. It is like a theological and historical recap before they entered the Promised Land. Kind of like if you are watching a TV show and it begins with a “previously on this program” type of clip to get you caught up before the next episode! There were two stories at work here.
STORY 1: God hates us and is working against us. My problems are too big for God or He doesn’t care. He has brought us to an impossible situation and we are justified in grumbling and doubting in fear.
STORY 2: God already delivered you from the impossible situation of slavery. You should trust that God is at work and will continue to protect and provide for you. He has never let you down, why start to worry now?
What story do you carry with you as you face your impossible situations?–JMB
Joel M Bradshaw 
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