Remember when Adam and Eve got shoved out of the Garden of Eden after taking that fatal bite of fruit? In the Bible, the opposite of this garden paradise is the wilderness, the desert. A harsh place without the ability to sustain life, the desert is described in Deuteronomy 8:15 as a “great and terrifying wilderness.” It’s a waterless place filled with venomous snakes and scorpions. So it seems an odd spot for a loving God to send his people or to send his beloved Son, which he did prior to his public ministry.
As the opposite of Eden, the desert is a harsh place where human beings are forced to face the effects of sin, which has withered and destroyed the peace of the whole world. It’s where Jesus battled Satan, conquering the temptations that plague us all. But the desert is also portrayed as a place of opportunity—a place to meet with God and learn to trust him as he cares for us in Earth’s most inhospitable place. In the Israelites’ journey to the Promised Land and Jesus’ journey to his public ministry, Scripture portrays the desert as a bridge to something far better. Get through the desert with your faith intact, and you will know how great God is and how greatly he wants to bless and use you.
As human beings whose hearts are roiled with the strife that sin brings, we no longer live in Eden, where perfect peace reigns. Thrust into the wilderness, we are not abandoned there but led by the Spirit to learn the lessons that only the desert can teach us. Today, let us remember that Jesus has led the way both into and out of the wilderness, beckoning us to endure such times with faith, believing that as we do, he will help us grow in trust and fruitfulness.
