When You Feel Like You Walking Alone
Today I want to remind you of a very well known poem:
“One night I dreamed a dream. As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, One belonging to me and one to my Lord. After the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand.I noticed that at many times along the path of my life, especially at the very lowest and saddest times, there was only one set of footprints.This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it. “Lord, you said once I decided to follow you, You’d walk with me all the way. But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints.I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you Never, ever, during your trials and testings.When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you.”
It’s a beautiful picture, and although the poem itself isn’t Scripture, it points us towards a very biblical truth:
God does not abandon us in our suffering.
He Is Close
Psalm 34:18 says,
“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed” (NIV).
Notice what the verse doesn’t say. It doesn’t say that God is only close when everything is going well. It doesn’t say He is near when we have strong faith, when we’re full of joy, or when we have everything figured out. It says He is close to the brokenhearted.
That means your brokenness does not repel God.Your tears don’t make Him uncomfortable.Your questions don’t make Him walk away.Your pain does not disqualify you from His presence.
In fact, Scripture tells us that He draws near to the brokenhearted.
Perhaps today you feel like you’re walking through the darkest valley you’ve ever known. Maybe you feel exhausted. Maybe you have prayed and prayed, yet heaven seems silent. Maybe you look around and wonder, “God, where are You?”
Can I remind you today? He is close.
Your Shepherd Is With You
David wrote,
“Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me” (Psalm 23:4, NLT).
I love that David says “through.”The valley isn’t your permanent destination, and you don’t walk through it alone.
The Lord is your Shepherd. He walks beside you in the valley, and when you don’t have the strength to keep walking, His grace is sufficient to sustain you.
Sometimes God changes our circumstances. Sometimes He gives us strength to walk through them. And sometimes, when we are completely exhausted, His grace carries us one step at a time.
But in every season, His promise remains:
“I will never leave you nor abandon you.” — Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)
You may not be able to see what God is doing right now. You may not understand why you’re walking through this particular valley. But don’t confuse God’s silence with God’s absence. Don’t confuse the darkness of the valley with the absence of the Shepherd. He is there.
Look Again
Perhaps when you look back over your life, you’ll eventually see what you couldn’t see in the moment.You’ll see the moments when God sustained you.You’ll remember the strength you didn’t know you had.You’ll recognise the doors He opened, the people He sent, the peace that came at just the right moment, and the grace that somehow kept you going when you thought you couldn’t take another step.
And perhaps you’ll realise that those moments when you thought you were walking alone were actually the moments when God was carrying you.
So if you’re brokenhearted today, take courage. Your Shepherd is near.
If you’re walking through the valley, He is beside you.If you’re weary, His grace is sufficient.If you feel like you can’t take another step, you can trust Him to carry you.
You are not alone. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
Believe & Confess Meditation & Declaration
The Lord is close to me when my heart is broken and my spirit is crushed [Psalm 34:18]. I will not fear the darkest valley because my Shepherd is with me [Psalm 23:4]. I am never abandoned because God has promised, “I will never leave you” [Hebrews 13:5]. When I am weak, God’s grace is sufficient for me [2 Corinthians 12:9]. I can trust my Shepherd to lead me, sustain me and carry me through every valley [Psalm 23:1–4]. I am not walking through this season alone; the presence of God is with me [Matthew 28:20].
If this devotional has encouraged you, share it with a friend on social media or send it by email. Someone you know may be walking through their own valley today and desperately needs the reminder that they are not alone—God is close to the brokenhearted.
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