The God of Second Chances

O. T. #2165

April 7, 2022 "The God of Second Chances"

Jonah 3

And the Word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid. (Jonah 3:1-2)

LET IT GLOW

I dare say that most of us have been like Jonah some time or another, turning away from doing God's will and seeking to  do our own. But there is good news for you and me, as there was for this prophet. God gives us second chances so we will accomplish His will His way.

When I was in junior high school, my friends invited me to Vacation Bible School. One day the teacher share about salvation. I felt the Holy Spirit calling me to repentance, but I was too prideful to surrender, for my friends were there. They were already Christians.

Then a few years later, a classmate and friend died in a head-on collision at age 16. We had gone to the show as a group and hung out together only a few weeks earlier. That night I realized that death can come at any age, even 16, and I wasn't ready to meet God. If I had died, I would go to hell. So I cried out to the God of second chances and full of mercy and love. Folks, I didn't know the proper words to say, but He saw into my sincere heart and saved me in my bedroom. What a glorious Savior and Friend Jesus has been over 50 years!How abut you?

So Jonah went through rebellion, repentance, redemption, and resurrection. That whale spit Jonah up onto dry land. and I imagine he hit the land running those 500 miles by foot.

Jonah didn't like his assignment God gave him. He had to leave his homeland and go to a hostile and evil center of idol worship, Nineveh. Jonah was told to preach what God told him to preach. His will changed and Jonah hit the road.

If we have not received a fresh Word from God, return to the last thing God told you and examine your obedience. Is the Lord still waiting for your obedience? (Blackaby)

LET IT GROW

You know, we can go straight to your own Nineveh to begin with, or you can let God get you there the hard way. But be warned: it can get messy if the Hound of Heaven has to pursue you because of rebellion. He will track you down. (Tony Evans)

Picture with me this stinky like a fish and sticky from gastric juices in the whale's stomach prophet Jonah walking up and down hills and crossing the Jordan River. Valuable time and energy had been wasted, but the experience was priceless. Keep in mind that God's call to do something is not going to change for us. so it's best if we do things His way from the start, right?

Do you think Jonah was singing the psalms of David along the way. He could have been singing his own song of deliverance, thanking and praising the God of second chances.

So, have you been delivered from your place of rebellion? His mercy never fails.

LET IT GO

All my life You have been faithful.

All my life You have been so, so good.

Every breath I am able to  will sing of the goodness of God.

I know You as a Father and a Friend.

Truly, our God is the God of second chances, dear one.

Will you surrender to His will, His way, today.