DOUBLE FOR YOUR TROUBLE

Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, and instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be theirs – Isaiah 61: 7

In today’s meditation text, God promises to bless His people with double for their trouble: double honor, not double trouble. To double means to become twice as much, or as many. To have double of a thing is to have twice its amount or extent. To double is to duplicate without losing value. Only the Almighty God, the God of Restoration, can lay hold on ‘shame’, subdue it, take it, turn it, twist it, transform it, and rather than producing “double shame,” end up with “double honor”!

Other versions of the same verse offer very interesting perspectives: “Instead of shame and dishonour, you will enjoy a double share of honor. You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours” (NIV); “Because you got a double dose of trouble and more than your share of contempt, your inheritance in the land will be doubled and your joy go on forever” (Message). God is a Double Blesser: Old and New Testaments; Goodness and Mercy; His Body and Blood; the Word and the Spirit, and many other ‘holy doubles’!

The Bible refers severally to the principle of Double. When the LORD fed Israel with manna in the wilderness, the amount He provided on the sixth day was double the amount gathered on the other days so that His people could rest on the Sabbath (Exo.16:29). Under the Mosaic Law, it was God’s will that a convicted thief repaid to his victims double of everything he had stolen (Exo.22:7). Also, the firstborn is entitled to a double portion (Dt.21:17). Elisha requested for and received the double portion of the unction that was upon Elijah (2Kg.2:9). Hebrews 6:17-18 speaks of two immutables!

The LORD restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends, giving him twice as much as he had before (Job 42:10). Accept, believe in and confess Jesus as your Saviour. Follow Him as Lord. Forgive those who have offended y and caused you trouble. Hand over your losses to God. Turn over all troubles to Him. Give and share love, eschew bitterness; and begin to see how God will cause men to give back to you “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over” (Lk.6:37-38). He will replace double loads of trouble and contempt with double shares of honor and prosperity, with everlasting Joy!