“Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit.”
Elisha’s request of Elijah in 2 Kings 2:9 inspired my prayers for my children. Since before they were born, I’ve been asking God to give them a double portion of the blessings he has given me.
I snapped this selfie last Thursday on Thanksgiving Day and texted it to the precious women in my small group with this caption:
Here’s me just before everyone arrives feeling so very blessed that my grown children want to spend the day with me. I laugh (as a writer) to have a shirt that basically says the same thing twice, but hey! It’s true of my double portion!!
My attitude could’ve easily taken a wrong turn right about the time I took that selfie.
I woke up early with a long list of things to do before the expected arrival of my daughter, Sarah, with her family of five, and my son, Scott, with his fiancée.
- Make the stuffing.
- Dress the turkey.
- Put it in the oven in time to roast for five hours.
- Bake the appetizers.
- Peel and cook the shrimp.
- Fill up the appetizer trays.
- Fan out the plates and napkins.
- Have everything ready by 11:30 a.m.
I expected my daughter to be late. Getting three little ones out the door on time defies logic. But noon rolled around and my house was still empty. My husband was holed up in his office, which is in a detached building across our driveway, working to meet the deadline for a project due before the weekend. My son wasn’t responding to my questioning texts. Should I be worried?
I fixed myself a plate of appetizers to quiet my grumbling tummy and feared—as another 15 minutes ticked by—that a different form of grumbling might arise within me.
That’s when I snapped the selfie and sent the text.
I shook my head at the horribly framed photo and felt a wave of loneliness. I muttered to no one in particular. “I’m terrible at taking selfies, but I’m all alone right now. And it’s Thanksgiving.”
God heard my cry. His still small voice whispered into my spirit.
“No, you’re not. I’m here.”
In that moment, I realized I hadn’t sat with my Bible yet that morning due to my list of pressing tasks. “Oh, Father God,” I whispered back. “You are so sweet. Thank you for reminding me of your presence.”
I curled up in my quiet place and opened the devotional I’ve been reading. I couldn’t help but smile at the book title, Every Day in His Presence. God has been speaking to me a lot lately about his presence.
In fact, I talked about God’s presence in Episodes 96, 97 and 98 of my podcast. I taught about entering God’s presence in women’s Bible study at my church a few weeks ago. And if that isn’t enough to prove God’s recent downloads to me about his presence, I plan to write next week’s Mid-Week Miracle about a stunning revelation God gave me for my birthday about his presence in my life.
I opened up my devotional to November 25, which in a timeless book may or may not fall on Thanksgiving. The scripture printed across the top of the page read:
Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever. — Rev. 7:12 ESV
Dr. Stanley’s commentary began like this:
“There is absolutely nothing so wonderful as simply abiding in the presence of a holy, almighty God.”
Nothing indeed.
An acute awareness of God’s presence flooded me and washed away my loneliness. I not only sat in the company of the God of the universe, but he had been the one to invite me to sit with him!
Dr. Stanley’s commentary continued:
“So right now, clear your mind of troubles and concerns. Imagine yourself before His immense and glorious heavenly throne. Think of His astounding beauty, His unfailing power, His magnificent wisdom, His overwhelming love. Not only do you serve the gracious and sovereign King of kings, but He has invited you to be with Him for eternity and you have constant access to His mighty throne.”
Tears blurred my vision so that I couldn’t see the rest of the daily reading. But I had seen what my heavenly Father intended. God has not only invited me to spend eternity with him, but on Thanksgiving Day, in the midst of my loneliness, God invited me to sit with him so that my attitude wouldn’t turn to grumbling. My family arrived to a beaming woman who is thankful and grateful for the double portion of blessing God has given me.
The next time you feel lonely, listen for God’s invitation to come sit in his presence. Allow him to wash away your loneliness, and ask him for a double portion of blessing.
