Have you ever felt like you have lost something? You may feel as though you have given it away or maybe even wasted it. Perhaps someone took it from you. The point is, you quite possibly feel that there is nothing you could do to get it back. I've been there. There are a lot of things in this world that lie to us. They claim to bring us wholeness or satisfaction…everything we’ve ever wanted or continue to look for. Then when they fade, or the person leaves, or that first excitement is no longer there we’re empty again. C.S Lewis said it like this:
“The longings which arise in us when we first fall in love, or first think of some foreign country, or first take up some subject that excites us, are longings which no marriage, no travel, no learning, can really satisfy…If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probably explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing.”(Mere Christianity)
It’s hard to come to terms with ourselves sometimes. At least it is for me. The thing (among many) that is so glorious about God is that he does not lie to us. All the things He promises us are true. I heard once that faith is hope that we can stand on. What if all the things you thought you had lost, every mistake you made and every decision you have come to regret was somehow turned into a blessing? Lately, while reading, a concept continues to jump off the page. This concept is the unmerited “double portion.” I first noticed it in the book of Job.
At the very end of the book (which is awesome, you should read it) it states “And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job TWICE as much as he had before.” (Job 42:10) To truly understand the significance of this verse one must know that at the beginning of the book everything Job had treasured in his life had been taken or destroyed. (Save His very life) His children, his health, his wealth, virtually all that had “defined” his earthly life had been stripped bare before his eyes. And what was His response? “And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.” (Job 1:21-22) I don’t know about you…but sometimes it seems incredibly easy to blame God when things seem to be “going wrong”. How many times have I gotten angry or blamed God for taking various "fill-in-the-blanks" away? It is also significant to note that Job was restored after He prayed for His friends. These same friends had quite honestly hurt Job in a very real way and yet He was humble enough to pray for them. That's pretty huge. Throughout the book He questions and does not hide his pain and brokenness. Yet at the very end…”The Lord gave Job TWICE as much as he had before.” All that was lost…was restored. God not only restored Job, He gave him twice as much as before.
What if in the midst of the shadow of loss there was someone who could actually restore and fulfill? Well, there is…“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut of the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners FREE from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; TODAY I declare that I will restore to you DOUBLE.” ~Zechariah 9:9-12
Jesus, in his humble incredible sacrifice gave us double. This was God’s plan all along and it’s still His plan. The thing is, we must look past what we think of as lost and realize it has been found in God all along. He restores us when we cannot restore ourselves. God’s love covers a multitude of sins and His love is something that covers you my friend.
In Isaiah the double portion is seen again: “Instead of your shame there shall be a DOUBLE PORTION; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy.” (Isaiah 61:7)
How beautiful is that? God literally promises to exchange our shame for blessing, our dishonor for rejoicing and to give us JOY when we give him the remnants of our seemingly lost hopes, dreams and experiences.
“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” (Isaiah 40:1-2)
And that is hope we can stand on.
