It’s sort of an old-fashioned word. It’s a Biblical word; a Biblical concept no matter the word used.
God is always using this concept. I was listening to Missler and he made a wonderful observation concerning two other similar words.
He spoke of retaliation for a wrong done and retribution for a wrong done. The first is worldly and vindictive and the second is Godly and righteous. The first is a payback. The second is just.
So it brought another word to my mind: recompense. It is altogether different. I found myself asking the Lord for recompense and paused to wonder where that word came from. I didn’t know if I had the right word but God knew what I was asking for. I did not want a payback. I did not even want justice as that didn’t apply. But I longed for recompense. That is, I longed for God to come in and bless me in a big way that would undo the evil done to me and give me something to make up for the pain inflicted. That is beautiful recompense. God loves it. He says it all through His word. He says it is right to do it and He Longs to do it. My friends. He has done it so many times in my life.
It is a means of encouraging the believer who is the object of affliction from all angles on this walk. We are told that all who walk upright in Christ Jesus will be afflicted and oppressed. It’s so true. Now That won’t happen to worldly believers. They aren’t afflicted really because they are not at enmity with the world, therefore they don’t get punched as often. Maybe for doing wrong, they do but not by the enemy for doing what is right.
Retribution is something God returns upon the head of the offender, but recompense is a blessing, a gift that falls upon the afflicted, in payment for their affliction.
So remember that God recompenses the one who endures affliction. Look around…You’ll see it.
Recompense. It’s a beautiful word. Thank You Lord.
Amen.