Several of the verses that I picked (somewhat randomly) for this period of lent refer to our hearts. I found it interesting to see yet again that God was interested more in the hearts of His people than in the place they were in (in their lives):

Deuteronomy 8:2-5

Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.

The Jewish nation was wandering around in the desert with not much clue as to where they were or where they were going. That didn't matter to God, in fact, He used that situation to see what really mattered to them - their orientation according to their hearts. It seems cruel to test them like this, but God had to lead them to a place of humility before they would see Him and worship Him fully. I think the same is true for our lives. We are also in a wilderness (modern society) headed for a promised land (heaven). I think that our road there is not meant to be easy, partly because it just isn't, and partly because those kinks and bumps will hopefully teach us humility and allow God to work in our hearts.

In the same way that parents do not give in to every wish and command from a child, in order to discipline a child, so too is God doing a good thing for us by not granting every wish and desire we have. Through the humility of "not having" every desire fulfilled, we learn the true value of the things that are granted to us. We learn not to 'look a gift-horse in the mouth'. Although we see Christmas as the time of gifts, gifts that symbolise Jesus being sent to earth, the real gift was actually His death on the cross for our sins. Let us remember what God has done and is doing for us as we wander aimlessly in our desert and let us appreciate and value the Greatest Gift of salvation through Christ's blood.