Second Chances

Jonah 1:1-2 & 3:1-2: “Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah… saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.” “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 thee.”

The 2017 turkey season will go down as my best ever. I harvested one of my best birds ever and tagged out in multiple states. A blessed spring. However, it did not come without plenty of mess-ups and misses. Opening day in my home state of Mississippi was cold and gobbling was very limited, but I was still able to call in a nice gobbler to 30 yards…and completely miss him! My entire shot load had bounced off of a big limb that was part of a brush top I was hiding behind. I was sick and then all the “could have, should haves” started flowing through my mind. But, there was nothing to do but either go back home or try another spot. So try another spot I did, and wouldn’t you know it! Within 20 minutes, I had a big gobbler on the ground! And. he was even better than the first, a really nice double-beard! I thanked God for the harvest and gave special thanks for the second chance.

As I thought back on this story, I recalled many other “second chances” in life the Lord has given me – from all the mess-ups in life to all the missed opportunities to serve Him. Every time He has been faithful and just to forgive me of all those shortcomings and give me second, third and many other chances to make it right. One thing is certain about the Lord, though we may fail or give up on Him many times, He will never fail or give up on us! In our Bible passage above we see God giving Jonah a specific mission to carry out. However, Jonah had other plans for his life and went in the opposite direction (boy does this sound familiar!). But, this was Jonah’s mission and no one else’s. So after facing a whale of a storm and a whale of a fish, God gave Jonah a second chance to serve Him and serve Him Jonah did! An entire city, a very wicked city at that, came to know the Lord. Thanks to the God of Second Chances, He didn’t give up on Jonah. I am sure thankful that He hasn’t given up on me, and I promise you, He will not give up on you either!

Posted by Mark Newell


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