Have I Not COMMANDED YOU?
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you WHEREVER you go. Joshua 1:9
This past week was very difficult for the America’s Keswick family. One of our Colony of Mercy graduates and former staff member, Ed Weiss, had a massive heart attack and went home to be with Jesus early Thursday morning.
We have had so many losses over the past year and into this one, and on Friday morning around 4:00 AM as I was waking up, I was ready to throw in the towel. Feeling emotionally drained, depleted spiritually and just weak, I told the Lord I don’t want to do this anymore. I didn’t want to be in charge. I don’t want to be responsible for stuff. I am done. People tell me all the time I am strong. I don’t want that responsibility anymore.
After I got done ranting in my head, a sweet calmness flooded over me and while I didn’t hear the audible voice of God, in my heart it was as if He was saying to me, “Let’s talk about the theme verse for 2015 that I gave to you!”
Well I knew then I was going to the tool shed! J He gently reminded me, the verse is not a suggestion. It’s not a recommendation for your consideration. It is a COMMAND! The command is to be strong and courageous.
Now lest you think the strength has to do with you? You are nothing without Me. You are only strong when you are weak? I am the One who is sustaining and strengthening you. And because of My strength, you don’t have to be afraid or even be dismayed. I am with you WHEREVER you go.
Please don’t shoot me or send me letters. This isn’t about getting new revelation from God. I believe for me the Holy Spirit was flooding back to my mind the Word of God that I have committed to memory over the years. He was speaking to my heart in a special way and the peace of God washed over me and I fell back into a sweet sleep.
Later on in the day my wife Jan sent me a list of verses. And you guessed it, it confirmed in my heart what God was saying to me in the early hours of the morning.
I have told you before, I am a slow learner, but I am very thankful that in the midst of the craziness of life, when all around us there is chaos and confusion, we are not alone. We can depend on HIM! He is MY Rock! He is my Fortress! He is my STRONG Deliver. Thank You Lord, for speaking to my heart.
Is there an area in your life where you are afraid? Dismayed? Maybe today would be a good day to write the promise of Joshua 1:9 in your heart. – Bill Welte is President/CEO of America’s Keswick
Daily Bible Reading: Isaiah 65-66; Mark 14:54-72
Think About This: Great comforts do, indeed, bear witness to the truth of thy grace, but not to the degree of it; the weak child is oftener in the lap than the strong one. William Gurnall
This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord. Psalm 31:24
Freedom Fighters 
2 Corinthians 12 🙂 . Thanks for being obedient Bill. It is wonderful to have learned much of that from guys like you.
What a verse…. I have the card with that verse (sent from Keswick) taped to the lamp beside my recliner. It has helped me many days.. Thanks again for sharing this.. And just stand in there, the Lord has & is blessing the ministry through you…
Bill i needed to hear this in the worse way,this past friday i was ready to throw in the towel on life.I was really mad at JESUS for me being in constant physical pain due to various ailments,then after my ranting was over i felt his peace.i know i might be living with this until i am called home but at least i know i will not be going thru this alone.AMEN.
Dear brother Bill, Ernie & I are so grieved to learn of Ed’s passing. We didn’t know him well but what we knew of him was that he was a dear brother in Christ.
This devotional post just touched our hearts so deeply. We have known of many of your losses the past years from your precious granddaughter Lindsay, Megan’s husband, and Jan’s sister Jeanne, as well as the sudden loss of another dear brother there at Keswick, Joe.
Our hearts and prayers and our tears have been with you through these and other trials and heartaches as well.
We ourselves have gone through deep personal losses where for me, that even continuing to live life itself didn’t seem sane nor wise.
Your honest words and pouring out the genuine cries of your heart here in this post has touched us deeply. Thank you for being so honest and real! This is exactly what we all need to see and hear. Your words are the same words so many if us have cried out to God! It’s so hard to go through loss after loss. It’s hard to endure losses that just don’t make any sense at all from our viewpoint.
I lived a wrong perspective for many years. I thought that being a Christian, marrying a wonderful Christian guy, a godly courtship and marriage meant, living happily ever after in this life. But that is not what Jesus taught. Jesus told us, “In this world you will have tribulations but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.”
Yes, we’ve come to see that absolutely ANYTHING can happen to us or those we love in this life, no matter how godly we live in Christ and in His strength. Children still die. Loved ones still get cancer. Horrible accidents take young, godly lives. Sudden and unexpected death still strikes those we love dearly.
This verse from Joshua is very sobering to the screams if anguish from our broken hearts! It is so vital to remind us as you have that this is indeed a commandment and not just a passing thought.
Yes, as the Psalm 62 says, “Trust in Him at all times you people, pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us.”
Reading the words of your heart, helps us to grieve and go through griefs together. It helps each of us to do likewise and to be reminded of a God ‘s command to be strong and very couargeous, knowing our God is with us through it all.
Jesus not only came to save and rescue us. He also “came to heal the broken hearted and to bind up their wounds.”
May that healing comfort and peace, that only our Lord can give, strengthen and comfort you dear brother as well as all of Ed’s family and loved ones.
You are exactly the brother that needs to be leading the ministry at Keswick. This post alone of your genuine heart and battle with great griefs and also God’s intervention in your heart and spirit proves that to be true.
You and Jan, and the Weiss family and Keswick family remain in our hearts and prayers. Grieving with you and choosing to obey a God with you, your forever friends and brother. & sister in Jesus, Ernie & Tia (((Hugs)))
dynamite!
Thanks, Frank!!!