Biography
Journalist and clergy woman, The Rev. Dr. Barbara Reynolds is from Washington, DC. Born in Columbus, Ohio, Barbara is a former Washington correspondent for the Chicago Tribune and a former columnist for USA Today. She is a nationally syndicated columnist; her columns appear in 210 newspapers throughout the United States. She has a radio talk show called Barbara's Beat and is the author of several books, including the 1985 biography, Jesse Jackson: America's David. She is currently writing her fourth book on the life of Coretta Scott King. Dr. Reynolds graduated from Howard University School of Divinity in 1992 and the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio in 1998. She is also an ordained minister and serves at the Greater Mt. Calvary Holy Church in Washington, DC. [Biographical information is correct as of the broadcast date noted above.]

"You Will Receive Double for Your Trouble" 
Today I am going to talk just for a little bit on the subject that, at the very least, you will receive "double for your trouble." My scripture reference comes from Isaiah 61:7. "For your shame you 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."

What caused Paul to say of the Lord, "He is able to do exceedingly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us?" What caused the woman at the well in Samaria to put down her water pot, leave her home and go about preaching to the Gentiles, "Come see a man?" And what caused Lazarus to come alive and throw off his grave clothes? All three sang the praises of the Lord after a period when it appeared all hope was gone. After all, Lazarus was dead, Paul had been cast in the sea after a shipwreck, and the Samaritan woman had just been exposed as a harlot. But when the power of Jesus showed up in their lives, all things became new, the wind shifted, tradition was broken, miracles happened. That's what happens when Jesus shows up in your life.

No matter who you are, sooner or later you will find trouble or trouble finds you. Sickness comes, promises are broken, and finances crash. The same stories of rape, incest, murder, and betrayal that captivate us in the Bible repeat themselves, real and raw, in our lives. The best laid plans fall apart. Junior was supposed to be going to college, instead he goes to jail; Mother is in a nursing home; and the girl next door is suffering with HIV. Trouble.

We need to know how to triumph over trouble because, as David once confessed, "Even my soul is full of trouble." Paul cried out that Christians are often troubled on every side. I am talking about trouble! It is during these troubled times that we must hold onto the Word of God which promises that whatever we lost--whatever the devil stole from us--as faithful Christians it shall be recovered. It shall be!

The Bible promised in Isaiah 61:7 that believers will receive double for their shame and for their trouble. Just as it occurred with Job, your joy and your prosperity will be doubled. So the question becomes, how do we hold on between the time of trouble and receiving double? Surely suffering endures for a night and joy comes in the morning, but the question becomes, how long the night? How do we survive when there are no answers and there is no light?

Not long ago, I had to work through this dilemma myself. Three years ago, I appeared on this very program and I told of the heartbreak of being fired from my job as a columnist and editor at a major newspaper because my views antagonized those in power. When I look back at that period, I admit that I was depressed. I was stressed out and discouraged but, nevertheless, the things I did right then, I believe, shortened the night.

First, when trouble comes, run for your life to Jesus.

Psalm 46, verse 1, tells us that God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in the time of trouble. When it storms, we run for shelter. So when the storms of life rage around us, we must find shelter in Jesus. He wants to be a strong presence in our life, to show up with enough force and power to make demons flee.

But too often in troubled times we run from Jesus. Instead, in our devastation, we often run to friends, consult a horoscope, or rely on drugs or alcohol as we drown in our own tears. No matter who you are, trouble can do you in. Why else would the devil create so much of it? Three years ago, despite being saved, sanctified, and seminary-trained, I almost stumbled. I almost started drinking again because of the pain caused by the loss of my job. But just in the nick of time, Bishop Alfred A. Owens, my pastor at Greater Mt. Calvary Church, reminded me that others depended upon me to continue leading them out of drug addiction. He showed up just in time, and through his concern and the prayers of others, I was able to snap back and continue on with my ministry. If you see someone beset by trouble, you'd be surprised what a word, just a little word of encouragement and prayer will do. But too often Christians run from other troubled Christians.

Secondly, don't let the devil steal your praise because there is power in praise. Praise God, especially when you don't feel like praising God, because there is healing in praise. Praise defeats the desires of the adversary to separate us from God because God inhabits the praises of his people. The more we praise him, the more we will have to praise him. Psalm 98:4 encourages us to make a joyful noise unto the Lord, in all the earth to rejoice and sing praise. When we think about the goodness of God and all that he has done for us, how can we not praise him? How can we not throw our hands up and shout "Hallelujah?" How can we not praise him from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same?

Thirdly, leave space for God to fill in the blanks of our lives. So often Christians pray for God to order our steps but we don't give God room to move. I have found that instead of overindulging in many things to make the nights turn into day, we should engage in one thing: seeking God. Matthew 6:33 tells us, "Seek ye first the Kingdom and his righteousness, and all those things shall be added to you."

We can run to and fro, hither and yon, or we can stand still, quiet down, and seek God for answers. We can ask him for his righteousness to enable us to do right and then wait on him to deliver. By seeking God instead of things--in our own way, our own walk--we have a short list and can keep our focus. The Word of God gives comfort to those of us who, like David, feel troubled in our souls. Trouble really does draw us closer to Jesus and that closeness brings us joy.

Psalm 16:11 says, "In thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." Little did I know, that now, some three years later after a major setback, I would have immeasurable joy.

Today, I am director of a deliverance ministry called Harriet's Children, which helps women break free of the bondage of drug and alcohol addiction. It is growing and we are building a multi-bed healing center for women in the Maryland suburbs.

I also have a new book out called No, I Won't Shut Up: Thirty Years of Telling It Like It Is. Recently, to my surprise, my mentor, Coretta Scott King, co-partner in one of the greatest human rights dramas of our century, called me to enlist my help in writing her memoirs. And I have been recently healed from a very serious illness by faith in the healing power of God.

When the book contract was signed and I factored in the peace and satisfaction that come with doing a job you enjoy--working with people where there is mutual respect--I'd say that God stands on his Word. If we hold onto God, we will receive the double for our trouble. But wait a minute. To describe God's blessings as double or even quadruple doesn't tell it all. The blessings of our Lord are without measure. You can't measure them. When they are poured out, I am here to tell you that there is not room enough to hold them. There is an overflow. God's blessings exceed our expectation and our imagination. They are wonders without numbers. Eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, and neither has it entered into the hearts of men and women what lies ahead for those who love the Lord. We are lavishly blessed.

That is why when trouble comes, we must still give God praise. We know that while we may be troubled on every side, we are not distressed; while at times we are persecuted, we are not forsaken; and while we are cast down, we are not destroyed.

To God be the glory. Amen.

Interview with Barbara Reynolds
Interviewed by Lydia Talbot

Lydia Talbot: Barbara, a compelling, powerful, and passionate message of faith in the face of loss. Where did you learn that kind of faith?

Barbara Reynolds: Well, I guess by going through trouble. Sometimes I believe that's why we go through trouble: so we can have our faith strengthened. If it doesn't rain, you don't appreciate the sunshine. If you don't get sick sometimes, you don't appreciate good health. So I think sometimes we have to go through trouble in order to learn how to have faith and hold onto Jesus.

Talbot: You are talking about adversity, but many people in your place might have blamed God instead of looking to God for strength.

Reynolds: I think that's the flaw, because adversity really brings us closer. If we reach out beyond ourselves, a lot of times we can't get out of hard places because we just concentrate on ourselves. We have to take the focus away from ourselves because many of the things that beset us we can't cure or fix anyway.

Talbot: You are on a continuing journey of faith. What was that journey about from Ohio State in 1966 when a professor told you that you would never make it as a journalist because you were an African American woman--and, of course you're now a distinguished journalist--to Mt. Calvary Holy Church in Washington, DC? How did you make that leap?

Reynolds: It was a long leap. I went through many, many changes. But, I did put that experience at Ohio State on the cover of my book.

Talbot: A wonderful book. No, I Won't Shut Up is the title.

Reynolds: Yes. I looked at that because it made me reflect that when the world tells you no, God's answer is usually yes. If you believe in God, God will open doors that no man can close. I look ahead at my life, at some of the things I want to do in the future, and then I always look back to what they said. There's always a lot of days in our life when others say, "You can't make it." They say, but God says, "It's only important what God says."

Talbot: One of those doors that God opened was, of course, back at Ohio State. You returned in 1996 to give the commencement address.

Reynolds: That was a foundational experience in my life because the first thing that they told me I couldn't do was play in the band, because I was a woman. And they said, "Women can't play in the band." So that was my first dream that was crushed. The second thing they told me I couldn't do was be a journalist. I said, "Now wait a minute. This is what I am going to hold on to." But that day when I walked in, the band was playing for me as I walked down the aisle and there were ten thousand people there at St. John's Arena. When I walked up to give the commencement address and receive an honorary doctorate from them, I just had to think, "Look what God did. God uses people." Of course, we have to thank people like Martin Luther King, Jr. and all those who've led the Civil Rights Movement, but God uses people.

Talbot: How has this all been part of your vision for your wonderful ministry called Harriet's Children?

Reynolds: I never expected to have a ministry like Harriet's Children because I didn't want to go around talking about the fact that I used to have a drinking problem. I just wanted not to talk about it, but I was doing my dissertation work at United Theological Seminary and I began to know I had to do this. I had gone to Africa. I was in Senegal, and this is where Gorée Island is located where many of the slaves were brought from Africa to America. The Lord spoke to me and he said, "Barbara, your people are still on the slave ships." He said, "They are still in bondage: addiction, drugs, alcohol. All of that is still slavery because they can't be who they want to be." I thought about that. Later, I had a project to do of laying a spiritual foundation where women could come off of drugs and alcohol through deliverance, which is different from recovery.

Talbot: You are wearing a pin that says a great deal about coming through to recovery. The women who succeed get a pin like that.

Reynolds: After they have been off drugs, alcohol, heroin, or crack cocaine for a year, they are able to wear a pin. This pin is very symbolic. It represents one woman who brought the other woman out through the power of Christ in their lives. They are both celebrating and jumping for joy.

Talbot: Jumping for joy! Barbara Reynolds, thank you for your powerful, remarkable ministry. You're an inspirational woman of faith.

Reynolds: Thank you so much.