The wilderness is a gateway to hope.

Have you ever felt like you've been through a desert season in your life?

Lost all hope?

Felt like you would never emerge on the other side?

In the 34th weekly of reading of Scripture known as “Bemidbar,” we find three stories just like this. Bemidbar is the Hebrew word for the book of Numbers that means "In the Wilderness."

It’s in this portion we read about a census. Counting of the twelve tribes and a lot of numbers. But as we we read further, we discover a deeper connection to this theme of the wilderness.

The children of Israel have just been delivered from Egypt and are on their way to the promised land. But where do they find themselves on the way? Exactly—in the wilderness. Eventually wandering in the desert for 40 years.

In Hosea 2, we find Israel wandering again. The story of Hosea's adulterous wife as a metaphor for Israel turning their back on God and pursuing everything except the one who had rescued them.

(Are we much different today?)

"But now I am going to woo her—I will bring her out to the desert (Bemidbar) and I will speak to her heart."

"I will give her her vineyards from there and the Achor Valley as a gateway to hope. She will respond there as she did when young, as she did when she came up from Egypt."

Don't miss this! God himself will lead them to the wilderness (Bemidbar) so that He can speak to their heart.

The valley of Achor (trouble), will be a gateway to hope.

What if the desert you find yourself in, is the path God led you down to bring you to the door of hope?

To get you to the end of yourself. To help you cast off your self-reliance and never ending chasing of idols that never satisfy? To bring you to a valley of darkness where your only recourse is to trust Him.

In Matthew 4, The Spirit leads Yeshua into the wilderness (Bemidbar) to be tempted by the Adversary. Here He fasts and prays for 40 days and nights. He's hungry and tired. Satan tempts him to make bread to feed himself, to wield His power for his own gain, and to exalt himself before his time. Each time Jesus resists, quoting scripture.

The pattern is the same: The adversary wants us to take matters into our own hands. To trust ourselves instead of rely on God.

And it's right after this season in the wilderness that Yeshua begins His ministry. It's immediate afterwards that this prophecy from Isaiah is fulfilled:

"The people living in darkness have seen a great light; upon those living in the region, in the shadow of death, light has dawned."

Could it be that the wilderness we find ourselves is a test? An opportunity for God to focus our dependency on Him? To build our faith and trust?

Perhaps the wilderness is a doorway to hope.

Maybe on other side of the wilderness is the beginning of your ministry.

May we always trust this King of the universe to lead us down the right path. May we love Him wholeheartedly. And may we always follow after his ways—even in the wilderness.