A second chance – Getting it right the second time.

Jonah, a prophet of God, made a wrong choice. He refused to follow the Lord’s instructions and fled in a direction away from the presence of the Lord - (Jonah 1:3). Jonah’s “choice” brought consequences upon himself (and others) that he didn’t expect. The Lord sent a storm of “correction” to get Jonah’s attention and to turn him from his rebellious way. As a child of God, you will not always make the right choice the first time. Your intentions and motives may be in the right place, but sometimes a lack of knowledge, wisdom, and experience will lead you to make a regretful decision. Sometimes (like Jonah) your own desires can get in the way of obeying God and pleasing him, and only the unexpected consequences of your actions make you realize that your choice was wrong, and make you wish you had a second chance to respond differently.

While Jonah acknowledged (confessed) his disobedience (Jonah 1:10), he refused to repent and turn from his stubborn way. In an attempt to escape his self-induced predicament (so he thought), Jonah had himself thrown overboard, only to be swallowed up by a great fish - (Jonah 1:17). It is one thing not to acknowledge your bad choices, but it is even worse to try and run from them to escape responsibility. Eventually, you will reap what you have sown, and bad choices will always catch up with you. However, all is not lost! God is a loving, merciful, and forgiving God who repeatedly gives his children second chances. He desires his children to walk in his will and follow his Word; but in order for us to receive another opportunity to get it right, God requires us to acknowledge our wrong choices, which is probably the single hardest thing for humans to do - (1 John 1:9). Secondly, God admonishes us to repent, change our mind, and our way! It is not only lost sinners who need to repent, but also disobedient Saints. If we do not repent and deal with sin in our lives, the Lord will send a storm of “correction” to chasten us - (Revelation 3:19).

In the end, Jonah finally surrendered to the will of God, and God gave him a second chance to make the right choice. How did Jonah respond? He arose with haste and followed the instructions that God gave him the first time - (Jonah 3:3-4). There are choices that you may regret that you made and wish you could have done things differently if given a second chance. You may not be able to change the past, but you can change how you move forward. Learn from your past mistakes, and when given an opportunity for a “do-over,” make sure you get it right the second time.