“You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy” (Ps. 30:11). Hannah’s story stands as a prototype for all of these. She who was “as good as dead” because of her barrenness ended up having her “horn lifted high” over her antagonistic cowife (2:1). The long period of waiting and despair served to increase Hannah’s joy over the answer to her prayers, so much so that the birth of one son was as fulfilling to her as giving birth to seven.    

Whatever the enemy has tried to take away from you, God wants to restore it. God wants to make it better than before. That’s the kind of Father He is. We can complain and remain in the same awful condition. Or we can praise God and be raised up.  Nehemiah 8:10 tells us, “The JOY of the Lord is your strength.” It is important for Christians to have joy in their life! If you don’t have joy, you don’t have any strength.  Where does joy come from? We tap into joy by hanging out with God! When we are in His Presence, we come out with a new spring in our step, a new song in our heart. When we’re hanging out with Him, we take on His characteristics.  

Isaiah 61:7 says, “For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.”  

In The Amplified Bible, this verse says, “. . . You shall have a twofold RECOMPENSE. . . .” The word recompense is the same word that we get worker’s compensation from. You know what worker’s compensation is for? If you get injured on the job, they pay you worker’s compensation. God is saying, “You’re working for Me. You got hurt in the service of the Lord. And I’m going to give you worker’s compensation. I’m going to give you double for your trouble.” Glory to God!