Stay the Course – I am with You

Posted on April 20, 2020 by Catey Stover in Freedom Fighters

So promise me you won’t get weirded out on me. I am not going off the deep end, I promise.

In the last two weeks, we have looked at some verses to help you when you are facing anxiety.

These are anxious times. Every day seems to be an up and down roller coaster of events that can trigger those anxious moments in our lives.

Some of you have never ever experienced a battle with anxiety. It would be very easy for you to say to someone who has or is battling – “suck it up buckaroo – don’t you trust God?”

If everyone had it all together with anxiety issues, why would the Bible speak so much to this issue?

Last week I had one of those anxious moments. It came at 4:00 AM as my radio kicked in with the morning news. I am convinced that the news companies use those wee hours of the morning to dump as much bad news as they can to hook people in for the rest of the day. I find that by night, the news in the evening doesn’t seem nearly as ominous as it did in the morning.

As I listened to the news, which included the many deaths from COVID-19, the possibility of severe weather in our area that would most likely include fallen trees and major power outages, my stomach was churning, and anxiety started to rear its ugly head.

By the way, our local power company was calling the seniors in our community the day before telling let to start bottling water because of the anticipated power outages.

So here is what happened. I can count on two hands how many times this has actually happened in my life. Don’t send me letters or emails and tell me I am crazy – I already know that. It was in the midst of that anxious moment that the Spirit of God spoke to my heart. No, it wasn’t an audible voice – but the word was this: “Stay the Course – I am with you!”

I turned over and fell back to sleep with such peace in my heart. While in the shower, where I have had many conversations with the Lord, I told Him that I would really get weirded out if I read those exact words my devotional time.

I didn’t read those EXACT words – but let me tell you, EVERY passage of Scripture for that day, every devotional reading, was on this same theme: Stay the course – I am with you.

Each morning I text about sixty people a verse for the day. Most days, I don’t hear back from the recipients, and that is fine. But one of my friends decided to respond to my text, not with a comment but with another verse. Here’s the picture he sent me:

Coincidence, you might say or think? I don’t think so. I laughed as this is one of my several life verses. And what are the odds that he would have taken a picture of his America’s Keswick tee shirt with this verse?

Throughout the week, there have been numerous times that those anxious feelings have tried to rear their ugly head. One was a situation that if I can ever tell you, you would have been anxious. At that moment, these precious words came back to my heart and mind – “Stay the course – I am with you.

 

 

I am praying for you.

In His grip,

Bill Welte, President/CEO
America’s Keswick

Written by Bill Welte, President/CEO of America’s Keswick: Bill has been married to his childhood sweetheart for 40+ years and has four married kids and 11 amazing grandkids. He loves music and is an avid reader.

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Think About This: “If you are struggling to believe that God can take care of your need, it is because you don’t know Him as He wants you to. Go to Him and allow Him to convince you of His ability to meet every need you will ever face.” – Dr. Henry Blackaby

The Daily Bible Reading: 2 Chronicles 29-33| You can download our 2020 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here. 

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid. Proverbs 12:1

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the doctrinal and theological views held by America’s Keswick.