"Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin...." — Romans 7:13
This article is for anyone feeling frustrated, fed up, or ready to give up on manifestation. It explains why difficulty is a natural part of the process, shows how the wilderness of old beliefs tests your persistence, and offers guidance for holding your assumption until your desires take root and flourish
In the Hebrew Bible, the book we call Numbers is originally named Bemidbar, meaning “In the wilderness.”
This name alone offers a clue: the wilderness is not just a physical desert, but a symbolic state of mind each of us must pass through on the way to the Promised Land of our fulfilled desire. It is limbo, a psychological in-between where the past identity dissolves and the new one is not yet stable.
"For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members." — Romans 7:22-23
The Wilderness as a Psychological State
According to Neville Goddard’s Law of Assumption, every external experience reflects a state of The self-transitioning mentally. Egypt represents bondage — the state of being enslaved by appearances and past conditioning. 'The Devil' Tarot card is a pictorial equivalent of this limited, fear-bound mindset.
When you decide to adopt a new assumption (“I AM successful,” “I AM loved,” “I AM free”), you symbolically leave Egypt.
However, you do not arrive immediately in the Promised Land. You enter the wilderness: that uncertain, transitional space where old beliefs still echo, and the new state has not yet fully solidified.
"The wilderness is the space where the old self dies and the new self is born."
This stage often feels emotionally turbulent. Irritation, anger, defensiveness, doubt, and inner conflict are not signs of failure; they are the natural weather of the wilderness. They show that the old identity is losing its grip, and your inner world is reorganising itself around a new centre.
Why the Wilderness is Necessary
In the wilderness, the old self dies. You release old reactions, cravings, and dependencies — including the fear-based interpretations, rigid worldviews, and inherited beliefs that once governed your inner life.
The Israelites constantly wished to return to Egypt for familiar foods and safety — a perfect image of the mind tempted to slip back to old assumptions when outer evidence has not yet changed. Egypt is predictable; the new state is not.
The wilderness tests your commitment to your new state, asking whether you truly believe in the unseen, or whether you will retreat to what feels familiar.
Emotionally, this stage is a detox: the period where feelings once suppressed by fear-based religion or conditioning finally surface. Anger, frustration, or confusion are simply the psyche clearing itself of its old Egypt.
The wilderness is where you learn to rely on “manna from heaven” — inner sustenance, daily faith, the invisible supply of your new assumption rather than external proofs.
In the Beginning: The Word and the Wilderness
The Book of Numbers stands as a living testimony to the process between assumption and fulfilment.
“In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1) — the first assumption. But between that Word and its manifestation lies the wilderness.
It is a necessary psychological passage where you embody your chosen state regardless of appearances. This is the period where your inner world shifts even when nothing seems to be moving externally.
"Between 'I AM' and its fulfilment stands the wilderness — your inner proving ground."
Jesus, too, entered the wilderness after his baptism. Before he could embody his ministry fully, he faced temptations and reaffirmed his identity in solitude. His forty days symbolise the same inner process: dying to old limitations, confronting inner voices of doubt, and holding firm to the new self-concept.
This is not punishment: it is the necessary maturation of your new state.
Crossing Over
Neville reminds us that “persistence in assumption” is the secret to crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land.
The wilderness is not punishment — it is purification. It is the process of dying to Egypt so that only your new self may enter the land of promise. The moment your new identity becomes natural — no longer strained, forced, or questioned — the wilderness ends.
"Your persistence is the bridge from wilderness to fulfilment."
Once you can recognise that you are in the wilderness, you have already taken a step out of it. Awareness marks the transition from wandering to intentional crossing.
Conclusion: The Inner Exodus
The book of Numbers, or Bemidbar, is an inner map. It describes the transitional journey between the old and the new, between bondage and freedom, between sense-based living and imagination-based creation.
Your wilderness is sacred. It is the detox of consciousness, the dissolving of the former self, and the strengthening of the new. Honour it, persist in your assumption, and you will cross over.