When Doug and I began telling people about our relationship, the vast majority said, “We’ve been praying for you. We’re so happy.” But the other voices definitely left an impression.
From a relationship standpoint I knew I was free, biblically and emotionally, to move forward, but I wasn’t looking.
There was no real desire in me for a relationship. I want to make that crystal clear. I wasn’t looking and had no need to do so. So many people have judged my timeline from Marcus’ death to my marriage to Doug. They question how I could have grieved enough in seven months to even think about talking to someone else. They think that’s not enough time.
All I can say is that each person processes grief differently. For me, this was the timeline I was on. For someone else, it could be very different. Each of us is uniquely created to fulfill the purpose God made us for. We are “fearfully and wonderfully made,” as the psalmist wrote (Ps. 139:14). In addition, He has qualified each one of us, meaning He has made us able or authorized us for the task He has put before us.
Marcus had a kind and loving heart. I can’t tell you how many times he told me, in my kids’ presence, “Now, sweetheart, if anything ever happened to me, I would want you to get remarried.” I would get mad at him and say, “Are you crazy? You’re not going anywhere.”
He knew how much I loved him, but he also didn’t want me to be alone. I would tell him I probably wouldn’t get remarried. But little did I know how well my husband knew me. His words reverberated in my mind and were comforting to me.
The timing was so crucial in the way God brought us together because I wasn’t looking, and he wasn’t looking. After the divorce was final, Doug was at peace. In Doug’s own words:
I just wanted to please God, and I was now in a different status. Then shortly thereafter, I was asking the Lord, “What am I supposed to do?” He said, “Don’t hunt,” and I knew exactly what He meant. “Don’t hunt for women. Don’t go looking. I got this.” “OK, God,” I said. “I can do that.” And so that’s where we were both at. I wasn’t looking, and she wasn’t looking.
When Doug came into my life, it felt like a refreshing rain saturating the drought in my soul and bringing a sense of newness. Yet his arrival definitely shook things up. Along with the excitement there was some turbulence and downed limbs, so to speak, that had to be taken care of. But it was so worth it because of the refreshing new life. And I always knew no one would be happier for me than my late husband, whom I adored. It’s like Doug was the something I didn’t even know I needed or was missing.
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Earlier in the year the Lord had given me hints that He might be sending someone my way. Hubie Synn had given me the word right after Marcus’ funeral that basically the Lord was going to have to put my heart back together. Then he added, “God’s going to put your heart back together, and it’s going to be Him doing it.” On another occasion, Hubie called with a long prophetic word, part of which said, “The Lord wants to make this very clear to you. He won’t let you make a decision that is going to steer you in the wrong direction. He wants you to be comforted knowing that He’s holding your hand and He’s moving you forward.”
Another time, the Lord used Drenda Keesee to speak to me. She is the mother of the young woman whose 13-pound tumor disappeared overnight. I had interviewed Drenda on “Ministry Now” about her new book, and she was about to go on “Table Talk.” The two of us were sitting on the set alone, waiting, when she said, “I’m so glad that you’re here alone because I wanted to talk to you privately.” I said, “OK.” She said, “The Lord spoke to me about you three days ago. The Lord told me that He’s going to bring a man into your life and for you not to be afraid and to open your heart.” It was similar to Hubie’s “God’s going to put your heart back together” word.
Drenda knew nothing about what Hubie had told me, and she is also somebody I trust. So, the Lord had given me yet another encouraging word from someone who didn’t know anything about Doug and me but is a person whose discernment I trust. However, as I lay in the pool that Sunday night, little did I know that the very next day the Lord would answer my prayer with a big, undeniably supernatural confirmation.
I was sitting in my hair-and-makeup chair at Daystar, getting ready for Ministry Now, when Shannon Kelly, our head of security, popped his head in.
“Ma’am,” he said, “I need to tell you something.”
“Sure, Shannon. What is it?” I responded.
“Well, this may sound strange, but I had a dream about you last night and feel like I am supposed to tell you about it,” he said.
“You did?” I asked. “Yes, ma’am, I did,” he said.
“OK, tell me the dream,” I said.
“I believe the Lord is bringing a man in your life,” Shannon said. He continued:
In the dream, it was me, you and another gentleman, and I was walking in front of you, escorting you down a hallway. You were behind me, and I could tell you were holding hands with this person, and you were very happy. I didn’t see his face, but I heard his laugh. His face was blurred out, so I couldn’t tell. However, I could tell by your posture, by your body language, that you were happy. You were saying something, and you started laughing. Well, then the other gentleman started laughing, and when he started laughing, he had a very distinctive laugh. And in my mind I went, “Wait, I know that laugh. That’s Doug Weiss.” Every time Doug comes here and he laughs, you instantly know who it is, because it fills a room when he laughs. And that’s what I heard in my dream. And that’s why I was like, “Wait a minute. That’s Doug Weiss.” His face never became clear, but I knew who it was simply because of his laughter. And in my dream, we just kept moving forward. When I woke up, I went, “Wait, that was Doug Weiss that was in my dream. He was the guy holding Joni’s hand.”
A few weeks after that supernatural confirmation, in early September, I was outside in the front of the house, lying on the driveway, just thanking the Lord. My relationship with Doug was growing, and our destiny was becoming clearer. I said, “Lord, You sent this amazing man. I can’t believe You did that.”
Then the Lord spoke very clearly in my spirit, “Joni, I never forget obedience.” He took me back to 2007 when He’d told me, “Marcus is worth fighting for.” And He said, “I remember that you did that. I never forget obedience.” That’s what the Lord said, “I never forget obedience.” Of course, it made me cry. That wasn’t an easy storm to navigate, but I obeyed the Lord, and God worked a miracle. It wasn’t easy, but I did it, and He remembered. {eoa}
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Joni Lamb is the president of Daystar Television Network, co-founded with her late husband, Marcus Lamb. The network reaches over 110 million homes in the U.S. and over 5 billion people worldwide. She is executive producer and host of her daily talk show, Joni Table Talk, which has earned 10 Telly Awards, three Lone Star Emmy Awards and five Daytime Emmy nominations. Lamb also co-hosts Daystar’s daily, live flagship broadcast Ministry Now with her husband, Dr. Doug Weiss. Her new book Through the Storm releases this month.
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