I could be surrounded by a bunch of my closest friends and still feel alone. There’s something on my mind—a little hint of loneliness—and once I feel it, I can’t always shake it. I can be talking to someone I love and think of a fear, and suddenly I’m a million miles away, floating around with my negative thoughts. I could be in the middle of a heart-felt conversation, speaking about love and happiness, and then get distracted by my future and drift away.

Loneliness sits deep. And try as we might, sometimes we can’t always win the unconscious battle against it—but that’s where God comes in.

As humans, our lives can, and will be filled with imperfect moments. Try as we might to be as ‘pretty,’ as ‘strong,’ as ‘carefree’ as the person standing next to us, still, we will fail. Still, we will fall short. And still, we will find ourselves walking around in our emptiness, more broken than before.

There will be mornings when we’ll rise with shadows on our faces and evenings when anger will drift above our heads like dark clouds. Sometimes we will walk around with yesterday’s mistakes in the forefront of our minds, or believe the words someone else has said about us as truth, even when we know they’re not.

We will surround ourselves with people, entangle our hearts in relationships, and try to fill the voids with our vices, only to be left sorrowful and alone. Yet, we are never, ever left to face this world by ourselves.

One of the most powerful (and fundamental) truths about this life is that God is with us. He is within us.

Even in the days we can’t find our footing, even in the moments we can’t identify right from wrong, even when we’re drowning in self-hate instead of self-love—still, our Father loves us. There is not a moment when we are without His patience or His care. Not a second when He has turned His face away from us, forgetting that we are His creation, beautiful and flawed.

Though we run, and distract, and try to fill ourselves with anything and everything that slightly resembles hope—the only place we can find it is in His arms.

And the sooner we lean into that, the sooner we trust, the sooner we smile and believe that better days are coming—even when we’re standing in the storm by ourselves—the sooner our lives will shift.

See, there is an extraordinary God within us, a God that can fight demons and win battles, who can shift the oceans and stop wars. There is a God who is filled with light—who is light—and who longs to pour that into us on our darkest days. There is a God who is patient, but strong. A God who is terrifyingly powerful, but equally as gentle. And this God is with you, wherever you go.

Sometimes we forget who we’re surrounded by, who our Father is. Sometimes we lose sight of the brilliance because we’ve been dancing in the dark for so long. We let life write our story instead of our God. We walk around in hopelessness instead of truth.

If you’re like me and find yourself alone in a crowd of people, losing yourself in the negative thoughts in your mind—close your eyes for a second and re-center. Remember who your Father is and how much He loves you. Remind yourself that there is not a moment, not a second, that He is not with you, guiding your path.

Even in your brokenness, our God heals.
Even in your emptiness, our God remains.

Featured Image Credit: Nicole Honeywill