When You Feel All Alone in the World
Do you feel all alone in the world? I invite you to read these words slowly. Let them wash over you and shape you from the inside out.
When You Feel All Alone in the World
The clouds are laying low tonight.
Layers of powder blue rest on smoky white. I hold my baby boy in my arms and get lost in the moment. We sway on the glider as blackbirds flutter overhead. They’re headed east, like maybe they’re chasing down the dawn.
I glance down at the fuzzy head to see if his eyes have closed. Every time, those bright blue eyes are still open, gazing at me in expectation. His body is completely relaxed in his mother’s arms, but his eyes are alert as ever.
Maybe I could learn something from this little one. As a mother comforts her child, so the Lord comforts us. We are held.
Sometimes, the fluttering of the blackbirds over your head starts to feel just a bit too overwhelming. And what you really need to know when you feel all alone is that you are held.
Perhaps a friendship falls apart.
You lose your job.
Anxiety threatens to paralyze you.
You can’t find your joy amid the daily grind.
Friend, you are still held.
3 Truths For When You Feel All Alone in Life:
Do you feel all alone in this wide world? Do you need to remember you are held? Here are a few truths to carry you through:
1. When you feel all alone, God holds you with a desire to comfort you.
I’ve read Psalm 131 dozens of times, but it wasn’t until this spring that it reached the deepest part of me. I was in a difficult season that seemed like it might just never end, and I stumbled into these words:
But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. (Psalm 131:2)
A nursing baby finds instant comfort in his mother’s arms. However, a weaned child is different. A weaned child has learned to find comfort even when the reward of being held is exclusively limited to being close. The weaned child has learned that the same arms that provide sustenance can also withhold. The child is content, even in the withholding.
Does it feel like God has been holding out on you?
He waits to offer his life-giving comfort, even in your season of dryness. God invites you to draw near to him. He promises to draw near to you. (For a list of ways to connect with God, click here.)
2. Remember this: God inscribed your image on his hands.
Isaiah 49:16 reads: “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.”
In the time of this prophecy, it was a common custom to engrave names and images of important people, and even gods, on the body. This text reminds us that we are precious to the Lord. Isaiah also describes the walls of Jerusalem during the time of captivity. At the time Isaiah wrote these words, the walls were rubble.
God remembered the walls as they were meant to be, standing tall and firm. In the same way, if the “walls” of your life seem to have fallen, God holds the precious image of your restored life in his view. He has not given up on you. He waits to rebuild what your enemies have torn down.
3. Remember God’s everlasting arms are waiting to catch you.
Deuteronomy 33:27 reads: “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemies before you, saying, ‘Destroy them!’”
These words were originally intended to encourage God’s people as they aimed to drive the Canaanites from the Promised Land.
God was faithful to drive out these enemies. He waited (with outstretched arms) to encompass Israel as their refuge and support.
God works to bring deliverance for us as well.
He waits with open arms to catch us when we fall. His character has not changed. He is reliable to reach out and take hold of us. You are never all alone in this wide world; underneath are the everlasting arms.
A Free Devotional Book for When You Feel All Alone in Life:
Are you ready for a fresh breath of hope to help you through a difficult season? I have a gift for you today! Rays of Light for the Dark Days is my free online devotional for your darkest days. You will find powerful inspiration and practical encouragement to help you through life’s trials. Click here and I’ll send it to your email inbox!
These Two Books are Free on Kindle Unlimited as eBooks and Also Available in Print:
God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. Lean Into Grace: Let God’s Grace Heal Your Heart, Refresh Your Soul, and Set You Free shares practical ways to experience God’s freedom, healing, power, and presence in your life. Find this life-changing book in eBook form for free on the Kindle Unlimited Plan or for 12.99 in print right here. (You can sign up for a free three-month Kindle Unlimited trial if you are not a member.) This book will transform your life and revitalize your relationship with the Lord!
Calling All Moms and Daughters!
Additionally, my 12-year-old daughter, Bekah, and I wrote a mother-daughter devotional book to help mothers and daughters grow closer together while connecting with God. Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith includes 60 devotions with Scripture, commentaries from both of us, conversation starters, and even a shared journaling section. Multitudes of mothers, daughters, mentors, and younger women are being transformed by this book! You can find this book in eBook form for free on the Kindle Unlimited Plan or buy a print copy for 11.99 right here.
