When God Gives You a Second Chance

I’ve needed God to give me a second chance to do His will a few times in my life.

Just one example would be my high school football career. I was my team’s starting quarterback and spent long hours honing my performance and pushing myself to be at the top of my game. Several colleges had offered me scholarships and future opportunities seemed wide open for me.

But God started moving me in another direction the night my big brother came to a game. Mike didn’t like what he saw. My game was strong, but my behavior was arrogant. Afterward, Mike said to me, “Jim, you’re getting a big head about playing football. You’ve changed.”

Because I was becoming arrogant, I would have normally dismissed a comment like that. This time I decided to pray, “Lord, has football become an obsession? Should I give it up?”

I never heard God’s voice, but I did sense that continuing the direction I was heading wasn’t what God wanted for me. Still … I decided to keep playing.

Not long after, I got hit out of bounds by a defensive player after the play was over. I shouldn’t have been touched. Instead, I got my shoulder separated. That injury knocked me out of play for a month. Had the injury been a confirmation that I should leave football behind?

Maybe. But I decided to keep playing.

My first game back I prayed beforehand, “Lord, if you don’t want me to pursue a future in football, break a bone during the game … just don’t let it hurt.”

Real smart prayer, huh? Sure enough, in the third quarter I got driven into the ground by a linebacker and suffered a broken collarbone for my troubles. But … it didn’t hurt.

The Lord had given me a second chance to do His will.

Jonah wasn’t confused about God’s will, he was rebellious. Even so, God gave him a second chance. Jonah 3:1 says, “Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time.” The Lord worked through Jonah’s poor choices and the resulting circumstances to lead him back to the center of His will.

Over the next couple of programs, we’ll hear from speaker Ken Davis who understands like Jonah and the rest of us the confusion that can overtake our lives when we question the Lord’s path for us. Time and time again we discover that true contentment and peace is only found in allowing God to inhabit our lives and to lead us wherever He will.

I’ve enjoyed Ken’s messages over the years, and this one is no exception. He’s a gifted storyteller and communicator. In these programs, he combines wisdom from the book of Jonah with a great sense of humor to help us better understand how we should respond when God intervenes in our lives.

I know you’ll be blessed by what you hear from Ken Davis on “When God Gives You a Second Chance.” Join us on your local radio station, or tune in anytime online or via our free, downloadable mobile phone app.