When We Have Support but Feel Alone

Why do hardships make us feel so isolated? I think back to my own journey with cancer, a time when kindness and support poured into my life. Still, there were moments when I felt completely alone. Why? Because it is we who must actually walk through it, no one can do it for us. It’s our body strapped to the table for radiation, holding perfectly still as the scan machine hums ominously. It is our veins that receive the sting of chemotherapy, our strength that drains away as we struggle to stand, sick and exhausted. Yet, just as God was beside me in those moments, He can be with you in places no one else can reach.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.” Isaiah 43:2

The Comfort of “When”

When I recently read Isaiah 43:2, the word “When” leapt off the page. I realized God chose that word to assure us that we will go through trials. We will pass through oceans of tears and trauma, but will not be drowned by them; we will walk through the fire of chemo radiation or the many issues and difficulties a diagnosis reveals that were hidden in our lives, and not be burned or consumed. When is the operative word? We will go through it, but we will not be overcome by it.  We can take comfort in the “when” we will go through trials. He already planned to walk with us through every challenge ahead. When we ask God to be with us in our journey, we will never be alone. 

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

He Will Never Leave

Deuteronomy 31:6 is a promise of hope. God vows never to leave us, never to turn away, and that promise gives us the strength to stand tall in the face of trials. He won’t leave us hanging to fend for ourselves. We can be strong and courageous, even in the face of cancer, when we know that God walks with us.