The day will forever be imprinted on my mind.

It was a typical, hot Monday with the rooster crowing to wake everyone up. I was lacing up my tennis shoes to go for my morning jog when my husband told me the terrible news. 

In a daze, I ran and saw my African neighbors preparing for their day. Some ladies carried yellow plastic jugs of water on their heads, while others dressed their kids in their blue school uniforms. 

I returned home and homeschooled my kids. Everything seemed so normal, yet my world was falling apart.

That night I went into shock and couldn't function. I shut myself in my room and sobbed. My chest exploded with pain as the grief consumed me.

God, are you there? I'm halfway around the world serving you and feel so alone.

Have you ever felt alone? 

Hagar, the Egyptian slave to Sarai, felt alone. 

Barren Sarai gave Hagar to her husband to have children on her behalf, but when she got pregnant, Sarai mistreated her. Hagar escaped to the wilderness, where she cried to the Lord. An angel of the Lord saw her and called her by name. 

She left changed and said, “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” Genesis 16:13b

In our loneliness, God sees us. No matter where we go or what happens, we can take comfort that God cares about us and promises to never leave us nor forsake us. 

It doesn't mean that our problems will magically disappear, but that He is in control. He knows the big picture and orchestrates the details of our lives for His glory and our good. 

So when we feel alone, we need to focus on the truth of God's Word and not our circumstances. This shift in perspective will fill us with a supernatural peace. 

When I received the bad news and felt abandoned, God patiently waited for me to look up and realize that He was there the whole time. The same is true for you. Whatever you are, God sees you.