1 Nephi 17

Nephi is one of the best examples of a prophet that lived righteously always seeking to do the will of the Lord. But even yet, he shares with us many of the tribulations that he and his family faced in their journey to the promised land. Besides just the plain old traveling through the wilderness living in a tent where his brothers say -

"...we have suffered much affliction, hunger, thirst, and fatigue..."
(Book of Mormon 1 Nephi 16:35)

On one occasion Nephi particularly writes they were -

"...without food...and being much fatigued, because of their journeying, they did suffer much for the want of food." (Book of Mormon 1 Nephi 16:19)

Nephi briefly states -

"...we did travel and wade through much affliction in the wilderness; and our women did bear children in the wilderness." (Book of Mormon 1 Nephi 17:1)

This wasn't for a brief time only for they -

"...did sojourn for the space of many years, yea, even eight years in the wilderness." (Book of Mormon 1 Nephi 17:4)

Why would the Lord require this of Nephi and his family in that they were already doing his will. We receive some incite as Nephi later relates -

"...so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings.
3 And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness." (Book of Mormon 1 Nephi 17:2 - 3)

It seems that years later, Nephi recognized that the Lord was preparing them, giving them sufficient strength to bear the journey across the seas giving them sufficient strength to establish themselves in the promised land. Nephi compared much of their own experience to that of the children of Israel being led out of the land of Egypt as the Lord prepared his people saying -

"...he did straiten them in the wilderness with his rod..." (Book of Mormon 1 Nephi 17:41)

Much in life, because of His love for us, the Lord straiten us with His rod.