At the Edge of Eden: Hope in the Wilderness

Have you ever found yourself in a place you never imagined you would be? Spiritually speaking, many of us have wandered through the wilderness—those seasons when life feels dry, uncertain and lonely. The wilderness is not always a physical desert; it can be a time when God seems distant, when prayers go unanswered, when our faith is tested in silence.

Throughout Scripture, God often met His people in the wilderness. Moses fled there and was called to lead. Elijah hid there and heard God’s voice. The Israelites wandered there for 40 years, learning to rely on God’s provisions of manna and water. Even Jesus entered the wilderness to face temptation before beginning His ministry.

The wilderness isn’t punishment—it’s preparation. But what sustains us through it? What gives us the courage to keep walking when the path is long? The answer lies in the garden.

From the very beginning, we were created for the garden—to walk with God, to live in peace, to know His presence. But sin drove humanity from that place of beauty to a world of thorns and struggle. God placed cherubim at the entrance of Eden, guarding the way to the tree of life. The gate was closed, and the wilderness began.

Yet the garden was not destroyed. “The Garden of Eden remained upon the earth long after man had become an outcast from its pleasant paths,” Ellen G. White wrote in Patriarchs and Prophets. “The fallen race were long permitted to gaze upon the home of innocence, their entrance barred only by the watching angels.”

Adam and Eve couldn’t walk its paths, but they could still see it. At the garden’s edge, they worshiped, remembering God’s redemption promise. And by looking toward that garden—by holding onto the vision of what once was and what would one day be restored—they found the courage to live faithfully in the wilderness.

That is what we need today. We, too, are travelers between the garden lost and the garden restored. The wilderness around us may seem dry at times, filled with challenges, uncertainty and waiting, but our strength comes from keeping our eyes on the garden. Every glimpse of God’s beauty, every answered prayer, every moment of grace is a reminder that Eden’s promise is still alive.

The hymn “In the Garden” captures this beautifully: “And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own.”

Even in the wilderness, Christ still meets us in the garden of our hearts. He walks with us, speaks to us and renews our strength.

So, as we step into this new year, let’s carry the garden within us. Let it remind us of who God is and where He is leading. The wilderness may test us, but the garden—God’s presence—sustains us.

Texico family, lift your eyes. The same God who planted Eden is preparing a garden more glorious than before. Keep walking. Keep believing. The fragrance of the garden still lingers, and it is enough to carry us forward.

By Antonio Cano
Executive Secretary