“One day long ago, God’s Word came to Jonah, Amittai’s son: “Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They’re in a bad way and I can’t ignore it any longer.” But Jonah got up and went the other direction to Tarshish, running away from God. He went down to the port of Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board, joining those going to Tarshish—as far away from God as he could get.” (Jonah 1:1-3 MSG)
Praise God right now! Yes, before you read any further, praise Him! Praise Him for the new chances He has given you to get something right; something you did not get right yesterday! Praise Him for second chance He gave you on a certain day where the Holy Spirit was certainly trying to move you to do what the Lord wanted you to do; that which you had declined doing before!
Praise God for every second chance to forge ahead in obedience after you have openly failed in His eyes to be submissive to His specified stipulations and stated expectations! Yes, we have many reasons to give Him praise for second chances, third chances, and actually multiple chances to get it right; right in our thinking, right in our behavior, right in our kingdom work, right in our ability to withstand all the storms of life and all the strenuous attempts by dark forces that strive to pull us out of the light; try to succeed in causing us to disappoint our Sovereign God! Praise Him for a new day, a day where we can really live like God has smiled on us and where we can successfully keep walking by faith, keeping our eyes on Jesus! Praise God that even though, like Jonah, we might have had to go through a big fish experience before we did what would produce great results for God, that we were given a second chance to do right! Praise Him for dealing with us after we did what He said, our attitudes were not right.
Isn’t this a good way to start today, praising God for second chances? Praise Him for a second chance to make your relationships better! Praise Him for giving you a second chance to keep profanity from residing in your mind and reaching the point where it revealed itself in your speech! Praise Him for a second chance to be at peace with everyone and to show love for one another! Praise God for a second chance to stop playing the “I’m right and you are wrong game” and to confess up and say, “My bad! I’m sorry!” Praise God for a second chance to stop worrying and to start praying! Praise Him for a second chance to react to the Scriptures from whence He spoke to you this past Sunday or even long ago in your past! Praise Him for the second chance to work while you wait for Him to move, realizing that your waiting will not be in vain and one day you will mount up with wings as an eagle! Praise Him all the way to work where you make a living or if you don’t have to leave your residence, praise Him at home where you are living and working! Praise Him for your personal, private, particular second chances that only you know about! Praise Him to start your day, specifically for second chances! Be blessed!
“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.’ So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.’ So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.” (Jonah 3:1-5 KJV)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King