Think of a time when you felt really alone. Maybe you were sick in bed or on a long solo car trip. Maybe you were stuck in an elevator. Or maybe you weren’t physically alone, still surrounded by lots of people moving around you as they continued with their lives unaware of your profound hurt, but you felt in your deepest heart of hearts that you were all by yourself.

When we’re feeling alone and wondering where God is, we have plenty of company, sometimes even people of faith who might surprise us by their times of doubt. For instance, what comes to mind if I say the name Mother Teresa? You would probably think of her selfless love and service to the poorest of the poor in Calcutta, India. Or maybe that she received a vision from Jesus telling her to start the charity that would minister to these often forgotten people.

What you might not think of is her nearly unbearable doubt when it came to her faith. After her death, her private letters were published in the book Come Be My Light. In the book, we learn that for most of her adult life she experienced what some theologians call the “dark night of the soul”—an absence of feeling God’s presence. It was utter loneliness for her. Mother Teresa experienced this painful darkness as if it were her own Calvary—the thirsting and abandonment and pain. Her letters show a constant fear that God would withhold his blessings if she became prideful about their work serving the poor. She was always looking for reasons that God might have pulled away from her. Eventually she realized that by living in that miserable state of abandonment, she could better identify with the people of Calcutta. Just like the people she served, she felt unwanted, unloved, and unclaimed. Her darkness gave her a unique ability to understand the people she ministered to.

Of course, her unique story won’t be the story for every believer. God is so good—He tailors each of our journeys according to our own distinct situations and gifts. But whatever place we find ourselves—in the dark valleys or in green pastures beside still waters—God is there. He got there before us, and stays beside us.

Psalm 73:25-26 says, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” This is a perfect mantra for those tough times. Regardless of the unrealiable nature of our feelings, we can trust that God is at work. And He tells us “Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you.”