God never gave us a road map. Never gave us a how-to-manual, a list of instructions, a set of definite plans. Never said He’d monitor our every footstep, our every decision, our every turn. He never said He’d control us to the point that we couldn’t take steps on our own. Never promised all carefree days, without any struggle or pain.

But what He did promise was His son’s sacrifice for us—a promise that no matter what we faced, no matter what fear may cloud our minds, no matter where we go or how far we wander from His loving arms—we will never be alone.

God never promised it would be easy. He never said that our days would be open and filled with light and love. That we’d fall into people and they’d always love us back. That we’d never experience loss, or failure, or death, or pain. He never said that things would always go our way, that we would always know where to go, that our road would be smoothly-paved and bump free.

But what He did promise was that He would be forever standing by our side, forever carrying us through the tough patches, forever arms outstretched leaning towards in. What He did say was that in every season of brokenness, He would bring us hope, strength, and truth.

God gave us the Bible, the commandments, the values to live by and encourage us in our walk. He gave us family and friends, people and places of support and love to turn in times of despair. He gave us miracles and blessings, stories and strangers to find us when we needed them the most.

He didn’t give us a simple path; He didn’t tell us exactly how to navigate our days. But He did promise a perfect plan—one that is continually unfolding with our every step, every breath.

God didn’t promise easy, but He did promise we’d never have to fight alone. He did promise that He would never be more than a prayer away, and that when we accepted His son’s death and resurrection as redemption and deliverance, we would forever be near to Him—physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, fully.

We are not meant to have perfect, pain-free lives. We are not supposed to have all the answers, or the entirety of our existences figured out. We are not supposed to never fall, never mess up, never trip or lose our faith momentarily. This life was not meant to be easy—for then there would be no purpose.

He created us in His image: to live, to love, to find our individual meaning, to honor Him. To know that we will be challenged, shaken, and exhausted by the weight of the world. But we will never be alone.

No matter what we fight or face, He will be our Father.
And His unconditional love will pull us through.