This word is submitted by Teresa Seputis [ts@godspeak.net]

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                         You Do Not Walk Alone

Dear child, I am speaking to you even when you think that I am not. You
may not know how to discern My voice clearly, but that doesn't stop Me
from speaking to you. In fact, I will find ways to tell you how much I
love you and how much I care for you--even when you feel like you are 
in the midst of the deepest and driest desert imaginable.

I know you can't always feel My nearness, but that doesn't mean that I
am not near. I have not left you nor abandoned you, nor will I ever do 
so. No matter how far away you may feel that I am from you, I am close 
to you, right at your side.  

Dear one, I do not abandon My own, and you are Mine. I never stop watching 
over you and I never stop loving you. You are always on My mind and in My 
heart. I take care of you at all times. Yes, dear one, I am constantly at 
work behind the scene on your behalf, even when you cannot perceive My 
presence. My hand is upon you for good, and I never stop caring for you.

It is My heart and My desire to that you learn to discern My presence
more clearly; that you learn to recognize My voice more readily. If you 
ask Me, I will be happy to teach you how to do that. I want you to be 
able to hear what I have to say to you because I want you to be 
encouraged. My plans for you are good, and I am actively working in your 
life to accomplish them on your behalf. I want you to know what they are 
and I want you to cooperate with Me in them. 

I have good things for you, dear one, and I will surely bring them to 
pass in your life. One of those good things is a deeper and more intimate 
relationship with Me. That is something that I am currently teaching you 
about, because I want to draw you closer to Myself.

Yes, dear one, I know that you feel isolated from Me in those desert
times. But you are not alone, no matter how alone or isolated you may
feel. I have surrounded you with My presence and I have assigned angels
on your behalf. You are watched over, and you are cared for. My love for 
you never fails, no matter how unspiritual you may feel at the moment.
You are My own dear child, and I love you with the same passion and the 
same compassion that a mother feels for her newborn child. You are 
precious to Me, and you are Mine.

I will not leave you and I will not abandon you, no matter how far you 
think you have wandered from Me in your desert. I watch over you and 
I guard your path, even when you are not aware of My doing so. I will 
send My winds of refreshment to you when you most need them, and I will 
revive your spirit with My living water. I will carry you on My wings, 
and I will draw you back to Myself. I will teach you how to enter into 
a new depth of closeness and intimacy with Me. I will hold you close to 
My bosom and allow you to feel the pulse of My heartbeat as you rest
your head on My shoulder.

Dear one, I know you feel alone in the desert. But the reality is that
nothing can separate you from My great love for you. I will never leave 
you or forsake you, for I am faithful. So do not fear your desert 
journey--I promise you that you will get through it. And once you have 
crossed your desert, it will be time to for you to enter into your 
promised land and to possess it.

Know this, dear one, as you cross your desert: you are not alone, for
I am with you. I walk beside you and I will never let you walk alone.