“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore”—Psalm 16:11 (ESV)
I’ve been holding a couple of things close to my heart. Talking with God about them. Pondering the depth of His meaning, evaluating His truths against how I define my reality. Comparing His word to my life, His intentions against my experience. In this instance I’ve been turning over the phrase double for your trouble.
Doing this always challenges me. I’ve had to revise my limited understanding. Holding my life up against who God is and who He says I am continually gives me a level of freedom that I have never experienced from any other source or in any other way.
This month, February, my husband of 31 years will have been gone a full year. This past year has seemed much longer than the 34 total years I spent with him. But true to God’s nature, I have experienced His goodness even in the midst of my tragedy.
In October 2018, we welcomed my oldest son and his wife’s third child—a precious boy who is the spitting image of his daddy. This tiny mini-me of my son instantly brought back the day I delivered him and the joy my husband and I experienced. My husband’s face expressed a mix of joy and fear. His stress took on a new level as he began to envision how he was going to give this little guy the world yet keep him safe at the same time.
This February my youngest son and his wife welcomed their first child, a son, my fourth grandchild. Since this was their first, the nurse requested mom do some practice pushes. We quickly learned this was no practice as the doctor barely made it in time to receive the baby. I looked at my son’s face and I saw his dad—his world was transforming; his heart was melting into a handful of putty he would gladly allow this tiny being to shape.
When my husband and I had our sons, our world opened in such a way it exposed our lack of understanding. We had been told how children would change our lives and we knew this would be true, but there was no comparison between what we actually experienced and what we thought it would be like.
We never knew we could love another human being with such intensity and fierceness or know with complete certainty that we would lay down our lives in an instant if need be.
If there is one truth in this life it is that you can never run out of love. It only multiplies. The way love grows and expands is another of God’s mysteries.
Even with such a depth of all-consuming love, it remains a mere shadow of how God feels about each one of us. We have only tasted a small fraction of the love of God. What we think it’s like and what it’s really like are two different worlds; there is no comparison.
As each of my sons have held their children, I’ve said, “Now when I say I love you, you know exactly what I mean.”
As I reflect on this past year, I see the heart of a Father all around me everywhere I look. I’m reminded of the father my husband was and I love seeing the father that each of my boys are becoming. These hearts mirror the heart of Father God. Men who would sacrifice all they have, even their lives, for their families, ones who will try their very best to make sure every need is met and strong hearts who desire to lead with excellence and integrity. These are men after the heart of God.
Are they perfect? How could they be, they’re human. But they know who to turn to for directions and they’re not afraid to ask Him.
When my husband passed away, my oldest son and daughter-in-love shared that the week earlier they had found out they were pregnant and the due date was October. God gave before He took. When my youngest son and daughter-in-love announced they were pregnant, we learned they were due in February. God gave us joy in the month of pain and grief. These two baby boys have been given a strategic place in our lineage, and it is my testimony that God has given us double in return.
Are you waiting for God to restore your joy? Redeem your pain? He will sweet woman, I promise. You are His precious daughter, the one whom He already laid down His life for. Because of His great love for you He will continue the fight to protect and cover you. When His fight for you is over, He will move His hand, having the last say so on the matter and it will be good.
In the meantime, continue talking to Him, leaning into Him and experiencing Him in this area of your life. Ponder if you have fully given Him the situation? Have you truly laid it at His feet and said, “Your will, not mine.” I promise He is not withholding the answer because He wants to be hard to understand, but rather He’s protecting you from something that you think you know but it’s completely different when held up to His perspective.
When God gave before He took, replaced our sorrow for joy, and gave us double, He put Satan to shame. He looks forward to putting Satan to shame on your behalf too.
While Satan’s goal is to steal, kill, and destroy, God gives life both on this side of heaven and beyond. It is the heart of our Heavenly Fatherly to restore your joy and multiply your blessings. He longs to give you double for your trouble and He’ll make Satan pay the bill!
NOW LIVE LOVED and THRIVE!
Self-reflection
These questions are in no way a substitute for healthcare professionals or any level of professional counseling. I’m an advocate for taking care of oneself mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. These questions reflect my heart, NOT my profession.
This questionnaire is an opportunity to journal your thoughts and feelings. It can serve as a launching pad on which to evaluate your heart condition as you understand it. My hope is that you will take the truths you discover about yourself and hold them up to the Light to evaluate them against who God says you are.
- What have you had to wait on for God to fulfill? How long did you wait?
- Are you waiting for something from God right now? How does the waiting feel?
- Has God taken something from you? What did He replace it with?
- If God has taken something away, what did it reveal about what you worshiped?
- If you’re in the process of healing, what is the toughest part? The biggest unanswered question?
- If you’re on the side of healed, what did you learn about God?
Use God’s word to take control over traumas in your life. Whenever you feel terrorized by your thoughts, take them captive by replacing them with the truth of God’s promises found in His word.
Print, then cut and carry this Scripture with you and/or post it in places where you will see it often. Ground yourself in God’s truths not Satan’s attacks. Encourage your heart and mind every time you are reminded of His great love for YOU!
Here is what God’s word says to encourage you and to give you an example of His unfailing, relentless, unending love for you:
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.—Psalm 16:11 (ESV)
When you read God’s Word say to yourself: God is happy to show me how to access the path of a life well lived. Spending time in His presence will give me a fullness of joy. As His daughter I have access to all that God’s mighty right hand holds which translates to everything under His authority.
Now LIVE LOVED and THRIVE!
