When God Gives You a Second Chance

I’ve needed God to give me a second chance a few times.

Just one example would be my high school football career. I was my team’s starting quarterback and spent long hours honing my abilities 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. I was proud of my accomplishments and potential. Arrogantly so.

God humbled me. That journey started the night my big brother confronted me after one of my games. Mike said to me, “Jim, you’re getting a big head about playing football. You’ve changed.”

Because I was becoming arrogant, I nearly dismissed his comment. Instead, I decided to pray, asking the Lord to show me if football had become an unhealthy obsession. I never heard God’s voice answer, but I did sense that football wasn’t God’s best for me. I kept playing anyway.

A few games later, I got hit out of bounds by a defensive player after the play was over. I shouldn’t have been touched. The hit separated my shoulder, an injury that knocked me out of play for a month.

Had the injury been a confirmation that I should leave football behind? Maybe. But I kept playing anyway.

My first game back I prayed, “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.” Maybe not the smartest of prayers but, sure enough, on the next play our running back missed a block, and I got driven into the ground by a linebacker. I also suffered a broken collarbone for my troubles.

But it didn’t hurt.

As I left the game, I knew that God had given me a second chance to do His will. He did so because He is a God of second chances by nature. God even gave rebellious Jonah a second chance to do His will. Jonah 3:1 says, “Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time.” The Lord works through our choices and circumstances to lead us 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. He also understand the contentment and peace that are found when we allow 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 this program, 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, online, on iTunes, via Podcast, or on our free phone app.

Ken Davis’ DVD Second Chances: Lessons from Jonah is available for a gift of any amount. Visit our website or give us a call at 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459). If you can’t afford it, we’ll find a way to get it to you.