When You’re Called To Walk Alone

Sometimes, we’re called to walk alone.

When I first thought about writing this article, I realized it would be the hardest I ever had to write. Doubts plagued me: did I really have something worthy to share?

The answer is yes.

God did give me something to share. But when he did, I nearly chickened out—because this is one of the most vulnerable lessons I’ve had to learn during my walk with Christ.

The simple fact that sometimes, we’re called to walk alone.

Now let’s back up here. I don’t mean completely alone. The good thing about it is we’ll always have Jesus walking right next to us, stabilizing us, picking us up when we trip. But as a Christian—especially a teenage Christian—sometimes the only person we’ll have walking with us will be Jesus.

If you’re anything like me, you probably seek out a lot of affirmation from who you have around you.

You have good friends hanging around? You must be awesome! You’re doing something right!

Everyone is happy with you? Yay! You’re on the path of success.

You feel wanted? Good. You’ve got it all under control.

Until the moment that God stops you right in your tracks, and shows you exactly how you’ve been living. Let’s clear this perspective a bit.

You have good friends around you? Examine it. Are they friends who are happy with you as long as you’re in neat alignment with what they stand for? Are they friends who will stick close to you as long as your accomplishments and successes don’t rise above their’s and elicit jealousy? If so, then in order to keep these friends, you’re dulling your own shine. You’re holding on to a toxic relationship that pulls you away from what God holds for you.

Everyone is happy with you? Dig deep. How happy are you? We often let ourselves fall into the pattern of making sure that everyone around us is happy, and in the meantime, we have exhausted the resources God has given us on a mission that was never part of his plan in the first place. In order for everyone you know to be happy with you, it takes a lot of mental, spiritual, and physical strain. It will knock you off your foundation in Christ and send you tumbling, unsure of what happened.

You feel wanted? Oh, boy.

Let me ask you this, what was it in the first place that made you feel unwanted? The lack of confidence and assurance that we have in ourselves and our salvation will bring us to a place where we believe that if we aren’t wanted by those around us, we must be useless, unworthy, and not good enough. That is when our souls react in a toxic way. We reach out, stretching and crawling on our knees while begging for someone to want us. We deny ourselves the beauty of having confidence in who we are in Christ, to try and feel wanted by someone who will never value us in the first place.

It’s in these times, these suffocating, draining, stressful times that God has to truly wake us up. He has to do something to put us on the right track. And every time this has happened in my life, God has spoken to me and told me that sometimes we’ll be called to walk alone. To put away the hindrances of unhealthy friendships, expectations in other people, and the yearning to be accepted by all those we let into our lives.

God wants you. All of you. Not just a little piece that is left behind after you satisfy everyone else. He wants to watch you grow and thrive, and though it may hurt, sometimes it takes pruning on our part to be able to give him that.

God never told us to keep quiet and let toxic relationships ruin us. He never told us to make sure everyone was happy with us at all times. He never promised us we would always be wanted by those whom we mistakenly placed all of our treasure in.

But he did promise us that when it’s time to let go of those relationships, people who aren’t happy with us, and the fear of being unwanted, he would always be there. Some of the most valuable lessons I have learned were those that God taught me when my heart was bruised and beaten, and I was forced to walk alone.

It’s not failure. Pruning things from your life and taking care of yourself is not selfish. And it doesn’t mean you are a less worthy person.

It means that God sees you as a treasure, because you are one. He wants you to realize that as well. He wants you to see that you’re a champion, and sometimes champions have to rise above and walk alone for a little while.