The phrase “God will bless you double for your trouble” is derived from the book of Isaiah 61:7: “Instead of your shame you will have a double portion, and instead of humiliation, they will shout for joy over their portion. Therefore, they will possess a double portion in their land, Everlasting joy will be theirs” (NASB). If you are a child of God and you have been walking with the Lord for quite a while, you will agree that God sometimes allows us to go through troubles. I guess some things in life are learned only through experience. Men of God in the Bible such as David, Joseph, Daniel, Job, and even Jesus Himself had to go through trials and temptations. The good news is after going through tough times, God always blesses us double for our trouble.
God has definitely doubly blessed my family for our trouble. I arrived in the U.S. from Myanmar in 2010 and the rest of my family arrived in 2011. Although we were excited to be in the United States, we didn’t have a solid income, a car, or fluency in English; therefore, it was a struggle, to say the least. After a few months, our trouble doubled when my dad had to go through heart bypass surgery due to coronary artery disease. It was my mom who had noticed something was happening to my dad. We believe God gave her wisdom and an urge to rush him to the hospital. The heart specialist said if they had delayed the hospital visit even a little, it could have been very bad for him. This means God not only brought my dad to the hospital on time, but He also made sure the timing of my family’s arrival to the United States was just right. When I look back, it was the best timing because my dad would have suffered more had he been older. Thanks to God, the surgery was a success and his health improved significantly after about a year. It’s been almost 12 years since that happened and we can’t stop thanking God for stepping in and helping us out.
On Sunday, May 15, 2022, my dad celebrated his 70th birthday at Burmese Community Church (where my family attends) with relatives and friends, including those who helped us during our difficult times. I can affirm that God blessed us double for our trouble physically and more importantly, spiritually.
Another time God blessed us double for our trouble was in 2019 when my family wanted to start a small business and had been praying for months for direction. Finally, there was an open door: a small franchise business was available to be purchased. The door opened and we entered right through it. We invested all our savings. I won’t go into details but after two months, we lost everything we had invested due to market competition. We were given a choice to start over but that meant was we had to start from scratch and invest money again to continue our business. We also wouldn’t get until the startup costs were paid off which could take months. We started blaming one another, including God, and questioned why He had let this happen. We weren’t sure whether to just let everything go or pursue the business.
One night, we got a call from an old friend who was also a minister, and he said we had been on his mind that whole day. He asked if we had any prayer requests. We explained our situation and he prayed for us. During the prayer, he said he felt led to tell us that God would bless the business if we continued. Long story short, we continued the business with loan money. We also expanded to another location for little extra cost. After almost two years, God has blessed us with double the amount we lost in the initial investment. I’m currently working at one location and my mom and sister are at another.
If you’re going through a tough time, no matter what it is, I want to remind you that God is faithful, and He has a good plan for you. God can never be wrong and he never fails us, so when things don’t go your way, don’t let bitterness drag you away from God. You can always share your doubts, anger, and questions with Him. But never give up on God because He won’t give up on you.
You are not alone. David, Joseph, Daniel, Job, and even Jesus Himself had to go through trials and temptations, and after going through tough times, God always gives us a double blessing for our troubles – maybe not in the way we want or expect, but always in the way He knows is best for us. Maybe for some it’s a spiritual rather than a material blessing. However, God will surely doubly bless you for your trouble in this life or even in the next.
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