My three-year-old had been having a hard time going to sleep. After years of him smiling beatifically and snuggling into his bed with nary a tear, suddenly my attempts to leave his room after kissing him goodnight were met with crocodile tears and pleas of: “Mama, no, you stay here! Don’t leave! I am scared of being lonely!”

I tried reasoning with him: “But, honey, you aren’t alone! You have Snout!” (Snout is his favorite stuffed dog.)

I was met with, “But, Mama! Snout can’t talk to me! And he can’t hug me or kiss me like you do!”

Touché. He had me there.

I totally agree with him though. When we’re lonely, we want authentic human interaction. We want a real person to talk to who will listen to us and hug us. The world is a lonely place and, therefore, has created myriad substitutes to combat loneliness, such as FaceTime, distracting movies and TV shows, online gaming, and social media. But ultimately, all those are like Snout: They can be nice, but they will always fall short of being with a real, loving human being.

The good news is that you are never alone. Never! God, who knew you before time began and created you with shocking detail and purpose, has been with you every second of your life. As it says in Psalm 139:

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. (verses 7–10)

God never loses track of you, forgets about you, or misplaces you. He never overlooks you or neglects you. He is with you no matter where you go or what you do!

Now, there might be times in your life when you wish God didn’t see. When you’re feeling alone with nothing but guilt and shame rattling around inside your mind, it’s cringey to think that God has been with you every step of the way. He saw what you did that time you can’t forget. He knows every awful thought you’ve ever had. Yet even with infinite data points showing God all your accidental missteps and rebellious mistakes, God still thought you were worth saving. The Creator was willing to give up his only Son, Jesus, for you! Jesus willingly paid the price for your sins with his suffering, death, and resurrection, not out of your merit but completely out of his nonsensically large love for you. Now when God looks at you and me, he doesn’t see our flaws. He sees the perfection that Jesus won for us.

You don’t have to fear that God is with you always; you can rejoice in it! Because of God, you always have someone to talk to when you reach out to him in prayer. He is available 24/7, because God “will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber. The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore” (Psalm 121:3, 7–8). You can’t physically hug God in all his glory right now, but someday when you die on this earth, you will open your eyes in heaven and be able to hurtle headlong into the arms of the Savior of the universe who has never left your side, whose love has never wavered despite the chaos of your life.

My son is going to sleep more smoothly these days. Singing a repetitive song every night about how we are going to brush our teeth, then read a book, then say our prayers, etc. has helped him know what is coming next, but the bigger thing is that he finally learned he isn’t ever truly alone. When I give him a kiss goodnight, now he says: “I’m not scared tonight, Mama! I have Jesus in my heart!”

Don’t be scared of being lonely. You, too, have Jesus in your heart!