Double-take Verses in the Bible

Did you ever come across a truth in Scripture, and do a double-take? What I mean is, the Scripture pulled you up short, and you said to yourself, “Wait, what did that just say? Did I hear what I think I heard? And if I did, do I really believe it?” Those are double-take verses, statements or promises that are so amazing that we have to park there, or go back over them again.

Let me give you an example. In Genesis 18, God told Abraham and Sarah—who were now both very elderly—“You’re going to have a child together.” And He even told them specifically, "Within a year, Sarah is going to have a son." Now that was a double-take moment. Abraham might have thought, "Did I just hear God say that to me, that this old codger is going to have a child? Is that really going to happen?" And then, "Do I really believe that's going to happen?"

We know that Abraham believed what God said. His reaction was, "Amen!" Sarah, on the other hand, did something different…she laughed. She was behind the tent, thinking nobody heard her, but God confronted her with that fact, and then He said, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" (v. 14). That's a double-take verse, not only for Sarah but for all of us!

And that one is repeated throughout Scripture. Matthew 19:26 says, “With God all things are possible” (see also Mark 10:27). The angel told Mary, “For with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37). And this from Jeremiah 32:27: “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?” Do those make you do a double-take and ask yourself, “Do I believe that?”

 

There are a lot of double-take verses in Proverbs. Here’s one: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6). Did you ever just meditate on that passage, understand exactly what God is promising, and then ask yourself, "Do I really believe that?"

Another one is found in the Sermon on the Mount. In the gospel of Matthew chapter 7, Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (vv.7-8).

You probably have some double-take verses of your own. My point is, what should we do with these double-take verses? I hinted at it with those questions above. When we ask ourselves, “Do I really believe that?” our answer should always be like Abraham, and like Mary, and like Jeremiah. We should always believe what God says, and rely on it! You are loved!