Never Alone

There is a story behind the verse pictured here and how God used it to reinforce that we are never alone. On the day my dad passed last month, I went home that night to rest. As I sat down on the bed, I saw this little card in the floor by my feet. 

The card had been stored in a desk drawer next to my bed, and I hadn’t had it out recently – I had barely been home in weeks. I asked my husband if he knew how the card got there, and he had no idea.

Who knows how it got there, but as I read the verse on the card, I received it as a word from God. And not just a word that God was with me in my deep sorrow in that moment. There was even greater significance to it.

There is a song by Kari Jobe called “I Am Not Alone.” When my mom was hospitalized in January 2021 and all alone (because protocol didn’t allow visitors at that time), I recorded a message along with this song and posted it on Facebook for her. I later learned how God used this in a precise moment to confirm His presence with my mom in her hospital room.

Fast forward to September 2023. The week before my dad passed, my sister and I sang many, many songs to him. Sometimes we sang together, sometimes separately. 

One evening I sat alone at my dad’s bedside singing various songs as my mom (who was quite sick) lay in a separate bed nearby. My mom eventually drifted off to sleep. As she did, I thought of when she was in the hospital (with the same illness) in 2021. And I thought of the song. 

I had been singing old gospel songs and hymns to my dad, but at that moment, I felt an urging to sing this song for him. I didn’t want to wake my mom though, so I leaned in close to my dad and began whisper-singing the song in his ear. 

I didn’t know if he could hear me, but when I got to the last verse of the song, my dad squeezed my hand tightly and held it that way for the rest of the song. No doubt he heard me.

I felt God’s presence in that moment, and I believe my dad did too.

And if you’re wondering how this ties to the verse on the card, the opening line of the song are words from this very scripture. The song begins, “When I walk through deep waters, I know that You will be with me…”

God was with my mom in the hospital room in 2021; He was with me and my parents in their room that evening last month; and He was with me subsequently in my grief. And in every moment before, after, and in between. 

God is true to His word. And when we walk with Him, even in waters deep, we are never alone.

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“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown…” Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭2‬ ‭(NLT‬‬)

“…And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭20‬ ‭(NLT‬‬)

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you…” Deuteronomy‬ ‭31‬:‭8‬ ‭(NIV‬‬)