Hope: I Am With You

Maria Enns

Our trip to Morocco wasn't what we expected or hoped it would be. Most of it was dangerous and scary, which was disappointing. The long days were uncomfortable and a bit terrifying at times, riding along steep mountain roads with sheer drop offs and no guard rails, being buffeted by wild wind gusts as we navigated tricky mountain passes, or feeling the tires slip under us when we were riding in the rain and darkness, always going much faster than we should have, just to keep up. I was often scared that we wouldn't make it home to our kids.

So I prayed. Hour after endless hour, I prayed for protection and I prayed for my kids at home and I prayed for you guys, as God brought you to my mind. And through it all, the song, "I Belong to Jesus" played on repeat through my head:

When I feel the fear come...even in valleys...You are with me.

When the rain falls...when the wind blows...You are right there.

Fear will never conquer me, 'cause I belong to Jesus.

I'm never alone; I'm never abandoned.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.

You are with me.

Before we left, I had written out these lyrics for my kids to read when they were lonely, but now I found them playing in my own mind through the very real valleys, rain, wind and fear.

At times I felt moments of unreasonable peace. And I saw God protect us every single day, through His timing and through circumstances that could have gone very differently.

The words God repeated to me over and over were very simple: I am with you.

Even though we weren't given a miraculous opportunity to get out and go home early, even though our bodies were so sore and achy, even though we had to make our way through really dangerous situations over and over, He was always there. Not in an easy-fix, bail-out kind of way, but a deep truth, sustaining kind of way: I am with you. It didn’t feel like a happy truth, but a very good truth.

And then, on the day we arrived back in Madrid to fly home at last, we got our the train and these words greeted me: I am with you.

A final confirmation of the inner narrative that had worn a deep pathway in my mind over the past two weeks. Confirmation that God was with me, He saw me, and He spoke to me.

So let that encourage you today. Whatever hard or scary thing you are in: you are not alone. Feed your heart with that truth. Read it in His word. Sing it in songs together. Bury it deep in your spirit so that is the narrative you fall back on when you are stretched beyond your limits. Sometimes it doesn't change what is happening and it might not even make you feel super happy, but it will give you hope. Hope in a God who has never left us alone and never will, a God who is so committed to being "with us" that He sent His son to live and breathe and love and die for us.