Lonely in a Crowded Life
Surrounded by people but still feel unseen? In this episode, discover how God’s promise to never leave or abandon you speaks into the quiet ache of loneliness in a crowded life.
Have you ever had a day where you were around people nonstop, at work, at home, at church, but still crawled into bed feeling completely alone?
The meetings, conversations, family noise, and social media interactions were all there… yet deep down, you felt unseen, unknown, and maybe even forgotten. That’s what it means to be lonely in a crowded life. From the outside, everything looks full. On the inside, there’s an ache that doesn’t quite go away.
In this episode, Bart tells the story of a seventeen-year-old girl, Joni Eareckson, lying in a crowded rehab center after a diving accident left her a quadriplegic. Nurses and staff were everywhere. Machines were beeping. Other patients were nearby. But as friends stopped visiting and nights grew long, she wondered if even God had walked out on her. In a place that was never quiet, her loneliness was loud.
Through Joni’s story and the promises of Deuteronomy 31:6 and Hebrews 13:5, you’ll see that God’s answer to loneliness isn’t always more people or more noise, it’s His presence. He promises to personally go ahead of you, to be with you, and to never fail or abandon you, even when it feels like everyone else has slowly drifted away.
You’ll hear how, in that same rehab center, God began to meet Joni in the quiet hours when no one else was there. As friends read Scripture over her, verses like “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you,” started to move from words on a page to an anchor in her soul. Over time, the girl who felt completely unseen in a crowded ward became a woman who has spent her life telling others, “You are not forgotten. God has not left you.”
That same truth is for you too. Whether your loneliness shows up at your desk, your dinner table, your church lobby, or your bedroom at night, God’s promise hasn’t changed: He goes with you, He goes before you, and He will not walk away.
Main Scriptures:
Deuteronomy 31:6 (NLT) – “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
Hebrews 13:5 (NLT) – “God has said, ‘I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.’”
By the end of this episode, you’ll be reminded:
- That feeling unseen by people doesn’t mean you are unseen by God.
- That God’s presence is not distant or general—He personally goes ahead of you.
- That His promise to never fail or abandon you is stronger than the sting of human disappointment.
- That even in a life that looks crowded from the outside, you can learn to rest in the deeper reality: you are never truly alone in Christ.
Today’s Challenge:
Think of one place where you most often feel alone: your office, your commute, your kitchen at night, your bedroom before you fall asleep.
The next time you’re in that place, quietly pray: “Lord, You said You would never fail me and never abandon me. Help me sense Your presence here. Help me remember I am not alone.”
If you can, write down Deuteronomy 31:6 or Hebrews 13:5 and keep it where you’ll see it during that lonely moment. Let God’s promise be the reminder your heart reaches for first.
Encouraged by today’s devotion?
Share this episode with someone who feels unseen or forgotten right now. A simple link from you might be the reminder they need that God has not left them.
https://www.dailydevotionsforbusylives.com/132
And if this podcast has helped you, please follow and leave a review. It helps others find the same encouragement.
https://www.dailydevotionsforbusylives.com/reviews/new/
Want to keep these devotions coming? Please consider supporting this podcast.
https://www.dailydevotionsforbusylives.com/support/
Connect with Bart
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dailydevotionsforbusylives
Website: https://www.dailydevotionsforbusylives.com
Feeling spiritually drained? Start here. Download your free copy of my eBook Making Time for Jesus here.
Mentioned in this episode:
Subscribe to the Newsletter
If you’d like weekly encouragement delivered straight to your inbox, plus a free copy of my eBook Making Time for Jesus, sign up for the Daily Devotions for Busy Lives newsletter at https://www.dailydevotionsforbusylives.com/subscribe.
Track 1 00:00:01
A 17-year-old girl lies flat on a hospital bed in a
Track 1 00:00:04
crowded rehab center. Nurses rush in and out. Machines beep.
Track 1 00:00:09
Other patients moan or call for help. There are people
Track 1 00:00:14
everywhere, all the time, but she feels utterly alone. After a
Track 1 00:00:19
diving accident left her a quadriplegic, Johnny Erickson
Track 1 00:00:23
couldn't move her arms or legs. Friends from high school slowly
Track 1 00:00:27
stopped visiting. Nights felt the worst. The ward was busy,
Track 1 00:00:31
but her heart felt deserted. And she started to wonder, God, did
Track 1 00:00:36
you walk out on me too? Am I the only one in this whole building
Track 1 00:00:40
who feels invisible? How can you feel so lonely when you're never
Track 1 00:00:44
actually alone?
Track 1 00:00:48
Welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm Bart Leger, and
Track 1 00:00:53
today we're talking about a kind of loneliness that doesn't
Track 1 00:00:56
always look lonely from the outside. You can be surrounded
Track 1 00:00:59
by co-workers and family or church members and noise all day
Track 1 00:01:03
long and still feel like nobody sees you. Your calendar can be
Track 1 00:01:08
full and your heart can be empty at the same time. That's what I
Track 1 00:01:11
mean by being lonely in a crowded life. Listen to what God
Track 1 00:01:16
says in Deuteronomy 31.6, So be strong and courageous. Do not be
Track 1 00:01:22
afraid and do not panic before them. your God will personally
Track 1 00:01:27
go ahead of you. He will neither fail you or abandon you. That's
Track 1 00:01:32
not a distant God talking. That's a God who says, I will
Track 1 00:01:36
personally go ahead of you. He's not sending you into the day
Track 1 00:01:40
alone, and He's not watching you from a distance. He is going in
Track 1 00:01:43
front of you, into every room, every meeting, every kitchen,
Track 1 00:01:46
every classroom, and every quiet drive home. Hebrews 13.5 repeats
Track 1 00:01:51
the same promise, and it brings it even closer.
Track 1 00:01:58
Those words are strong. He says, never fail you and never abandon
Track 1 00:02:07
you. You may have been failed by people. You may have been
Track 1 00:02:11
abandoned by friends or family, even people in church. And you
Track 1 00:02:16
may know what it feels like to be overlooked, pass by, or maybe
Track 1 00:02:20
even just only valued for what you do. But God is drawing a
Track 1 00:02:25
line in the sand here and saying, that's not me. I do not walk
Track 1 00:02:30
away from you. Loneliness isn't just what happens when you're
Track 1 00:02:35
physically by yourself. You can feel lonely at the office when
Track 1 00:02:39
people know your title, but really not the real you. You can
Track 1 00:02:43
feel lonely at home when everyone is on their devices and
Track 1 00:02:46
no one's really connecting. You can feel lonely at church when
Track 1 00:02:50
everyone seems to have a group, or some people call it a click,
Track 1 00:02:54
a conversation, or a circle, and you're standing off to the side,
Track 1 00:02:58
wondering if anyone would notice you if you weren't there. You
Track 1 00:03:02
can feel lonely, scrolling through social media, surrounded
Track 1 00:03:04
by updates and pictures, but quietly thinking, does anyone
Track 1 00:03:08
really know what I'm going through? easy to start believing
Track 1 00:03:12
the lie that God has stepped back to. If people don't notice
Track 1 00:03:16
me, maybe God doesn't either. If they don't ask or don't check in,
Track 1 00:03:22
maybe He doesn't see them either. That's why these promises in
Track 1 00:03:26
Scripture matter so much. God's not basing His presence on how
Track 1 00:03:30
many people are around you, and He's not measuring your value by
Track 1 00:03:34
how many invitations you get or how many texts you receive. He's
Track 1 00:03:38
already decided, I'll personally go ahead of you. I will never
Track 1 00:03:42
fail you, and I will never abandon you. This is where
Track 1 00:03:46
Johnny Erickson taught a story comes back in. In that noisy,
Track 1 00:03:50
crowded rehab center, God began to meet her in the quiet hours
Track 1 00:03:54
when no one else was there.
Track 1 00:04:03
Eventually, the truths of these verses began to sink in. She
Track 1 00:04:11
still had hard nights and tears and a lot of questions about
Track 1 00:04:15
what her life was going to become like, but she didn't feel
Track 1 00:04:19
totally abandoned anymore. Over time, the girl who felt unseen
Track 1 00:04:23
in a busy hospital became a woman who spent her life telling
Track 1 00:04:27
people with disabilities all over the world, you are not
Track 1 00:04:30
forgotten, and God has not left you. In a life that looked
Track 1 00:04:35
crowded from the outside but lonely on the inside, Johnny
Track 1 00:04:39
discovered the deeper reality. Even when others don't notice,
Track 1 00:04:43
the Lord your God goes with you. He will never fail you or
Track 1 00:04:47
forsake you. Maybe you need to hear that same reality today.
Track 1 00:04:52
You might be sitting in a crowded workplace or serving in
Track 1 00:04:55
a busy ministry. You may be living in a house full of people
Track 1 00:04:59
and still feel like your heart's on an island. And maybe there
Track 1 00:05:03
are things you're carrying that no one else has asked about.
Track 1 00:05:06
Maybe you're the one who's always there for everyone else,
Track 1 00:05:09
but you're not sure who's really there for you. The God who met
Track 1 00:05:13
Johnny in that hospital room is the same God who is with you in
Track 1 00:05:17
your car on the way to work, or in the break room when you feel
Track 1 00:05:20
left out. He sits beside you. He doesn't leave when the room
Track 1 00:05:25
empties or when the conversation ends. Here's today's challenge.
Track 1 00:05:28
I want you to think about one specific place where you tend to
Track 1 00:05:31
feel the most alone. It might be your commute or your office. It
Track 1 00:05:36
could be your bedroom at night or maybe even a church lobby.
Track 1 00:05:41
The next time you're in that exact place, I want you to
Track 1 00:05:44
quietly whisper one of these promises back to God. You could
Track 1 00:05:47
say, Lord, you said you would personally go ahead of me. Or
Track 1 00:05:51
maybe you promised you would never fail me or abandon me.
Track 1 00:05:54
Help me believe that right here. And let that space become a
Track 1 00:05:59
reminder, not of your loneliness, but of his nearness. Lord, you
Track 1 00:06:05
see every person who feels invisible today. You see the one
Track 1 00:06:08
who's surrounded by people and yet still feels completely alone.
Track 1 00:06:13
Thank you that your word says you personally go ahead of us
Track 1 00:06:16
and that you will never fail us and you will never abandon us.
Track 1 00:06:20
Please draw close to every lonely heart listening right now
Track 1 00:06:24
and let them sense your presence in a new way today. In Jesus'
Track 1 00:06:27
name, Amen. If this episode encouraged you, there's a good
Track 1 00:06:31
chance it will encourage someone else who feels unseen too.
Track 1 00:06:34
Please share it with a friend or loved one. Just copy the link in
Track 1 00:06:38
the show notes and send it their way. You never know how much
Track 1 00:06:42
they might need it today. And thanks for helping me spread the
Track 1 00:06:45
word. It really does mean a lot to me. And thanks for joining me
Track 1 00:06:49
today on Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. Remember, even when
Track 1 00:06:53
you feel lonely in a crowded life, you're never actually
Track 1 00:06:56
alone. The Lord your God goes with you and he will never fail
Track 1 00:06:59
you or abandon you. Come back next time for more encouragement
Track 1 00:07:03
to help you live grounded in God's truth. Until then, God
Track 1 00:07:07
bless and have a great day.
