You may feel like throwing in the towel, giving up, telling yourself that there is nothing left to live for or fight for, but I am here to remind you of the good news of what Jesus said, which was, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself” (John 14:3). This verse is a comfort to know that Jesus will return for His disciples and that they will be with Him forever. It is also a reminder that Jesus is the basis for hope and that because of Him, people will go home to be with God. He is a God of another chance. Things will not always go your way, but this doesn’t mean that Jesus has forgotten about you. Many people will and have turned their backs on God, but God never turns His back on us. He is always there, an ever-present help, just waiting to hear from you, but instead, the alcohol gets your attention, the TV, the cellphone, the clubs, the drugs, the porn sites, or the food (gluttony), and if you remember, God is a jealous God.
Strengthen your flesh and let go of that sinful nature. God needs you to come back into the fold. You aren’t worthless. You are worthy in God’s eyes, and you are somebody. God says you are a precious ruby. A precious diamond and gem. God is a God of another chance, and He gave us the gospel. Christ died for our sins. Romans 5:12 (ESV) tells us, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned,” meaning that according to the Christian faith, sin and subsequently death entered the world through the actions of one man, Adam, and because of this, all humans are affected by sin and experience physical death as a result. Without another chance, we would be eternally divorced from God, but the great news does not stop. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we get repeated second chances, the beauty of confession and forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 of the (ESV) says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” essentially emphasizing that acknowledging our wrongdoing and seeking forgiveness is key to experiencing God’s cleansing power; it’s a reassurance that God is willing and able to forgive those who sincerely repent and come to Him.
Sometimes, you may find hopelessness in your thoughts and can’t progress past the mistakes you made, looking inward instead of looking upward, and if an inward look continues, patterns will stay etching into your thinking, which become strongholds. These strongholds will twist your thinking folks until you cannot ascertain and process the knowledge of God, as perceived through the gospel, which could give you the victory you crave. If you refuse to embrace God’s second chance you could spiral out of control into anti-gospel thought patterns such as guilt, fear, despair, frustration, rejection, condemnation, and self-pity. 2 Corinthians 5:17 of the (KJV) states, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new,” meaning that when someone becomes a Christian and is “in Christ,” they are considered a “new creation,” signifying a complete transformation from their old life of sin to a new life with God, where the old things have passed away and all things have become new; essentially, a radical change in identity and character due to their faith in Jesus Christ. Is this you? Do you want it to be?
God offering you another chance isn’t a license to continue in sin or make the same mistakes. It’s an opportunity to come before God, through His son Jesus Christ, and find forgiveness and a fresh start. A new beginning and another chance to get it right per say! God is willing to give you another chance, but you MUST want it. Stop believing that you will never amount to anything or that you will always be a failure. Those are lies and tricks of the devil. These lies are to keep you in the dark and keep you down, keep you in a state of depression, feeling alone, weak, wanting to commit suicide, or to isolate yourself from friends and family, but this is not what God wants for you or your life. He wants you to get back up, always get back up, no matter how many times you may fall (backslide), just repent and get back on the path of righteousness. God gives you another chance so that you can redeem yourselves of your setbacks and mistakes. Strengthen your resolve in Christ Jesus. Do not keep walking in a world of darkness with weak flesh. Each day, seek God, strengthen your flesh, your heart may be strong to the righteous things in God, but you might have weak flesh, and the only way to strengthen your flesh is to read your Bible daily, pray, fast, confess, be obedient to God, pay your tithes and offerings, use your skills to glorify Him, listen to gospel music, and give praise and thanksgiving. You can leave behind your past mistakes and start anew with God’s help. Never doubt this.
God may remove some people from your life, but that’s okay, don’t second guess it, it’s for the best. Getting another chance means everybody can’t go where God is about to take you. See, what God has for you, it is for YOU. Get up off that floor from crying and having a pity party, you’re stronger than that. Stop telling your business all the time then wondering why something went left, not everyone is rooting for you or is your friend, some may be praying for your downfall, this is why you talk to Jesus and keep it between you and Jesus, unless you want to share it as a testimony in the church, otherwise, boasting won’t get you anywhere, God doesn’t love a boaster or a braggard, and stop thinking you’re not beautiful or handsome enough, God made you in His image, and just the way you were meant to be in His eyes, if someone can’t, won’t, or doesn’t love you for you, then they do not deserve you, your friendship, or your time. And lastly, stop telling yourself “You can’t,” because you can do ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGHENS YOU.
God has incredible patience with us. The Bible is full of people who received another chance, third and fourth chances too: Peter, Samson, David, Mark, Jonah, and others. All trophies of God’s grace. God giving you another chance is His declaration that He is not holding you or your past against you, yet He still wishes to see positive changes in your life. Luke 4:18-19 of the (NIV) states, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” This passage is about Jesus’s mission to bring good news to the poor, heal the blind, and free the oppressed. This passage also shows that Jesus comes in the power of the Spirit. Jesus brings healing to those who know they are weak and poor in spirit; broken and even lost. Jesus’s gospel message is telling you that there is salvation and liberation. If you want to be delivered or delivered again, just confess and repent of your sins. Falling short of God’s glory [daily] is going to happen because you aren’t perfect. No one is. Therefore, when God gives you another chance, this is truly considered a blessing. Count it all joy and start letting your walk be different, your talk be different, and your way of thinking be different, but all in accordance with the Lord and His plans for your life, because getting another chance mustn’t be taken for granted. Until next time folks. Stay blessed.
