| Finding a Fresh Start by Rick Ezell |
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| It was like finding a wad of one-hundred dollar bills on an afternoon walk. In previous readings I had passed over the three words in the story of Jonah, the drama of the fish swallowing a man. Perhaps I missed them because the opening statement in chapter three is similar to the first statement of the book.
I wont overlook them again. They come right after the regurgitation of the fish and right before the revival of the Ninevites. The story begins by saying, “The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: Go to the great city of Nineveh” (Jonah 1:1, 2). But Jonah headed west to Tarshish instead of east to Nineveh. In the midst of a powerful storm Jonah was swallowed by a great fish. “Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time (emphasis added): Go to the great city of Nineveh” (Jonah 3:1, 2). Did you notice the three words? “A second time.” It was Gods way of saying, “Jonah, Im giving you another chance, a new beginning, a fresh start. Now go to Nineveh and tell the people about me.” These three words are easily overlooked but they reveal a great deal about Gods character. God is the God of the second chance, the fresh start, the new beginning. If you miss that discovery you miss the message of the book of Jonah, not to mention the entire Bible. God doesnt turn a deaf ear or a cold shoulder to the repentant no matter how blatant the rebellion or how bad the transgression. Failure Does Not Make a Flop Without a second chance Jonah would have been characterized as a washed-up prophet, a failure. He would have been in good company. Babe Ruth, R.H. Macy, Walt Disney, Henry Ford, Abraham Lincoln, and John Wesley experienced the realities of painful failure. Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs but struck out 1,330 times. R.H. Macy was unsuccessful seven times before launching his department store triumph. Walt Disney experienced rejection, ridicule, and a nervous breakdown before his cartoon characters became a hit. At 40 years of age Henry Ford was penniless. Abraham Lincoln lost at least six races for political offices. John Wesley had a disastrous marriage. However failure is an event, not a person. A vast divide exists between who we are and what we do. Ruth, Macy, Disney, Ford, Lincoln, and Wesley may have failed, but they were not failures. Neither was Jonah and neither are you. You are in process. Failure isnt defined by one mistake or 100 mistakes. Look beyond your shortcomings and see yourself from Gods point of view. You are Gods special treasure. God loves you deeply. God knows and accepts you just as you are. God does not give up on you, no matter how many times you fail. Sin Is Forgivable In his willful defiance Jonah turned his back on God. He had missed the mark of Gods standard for his life, falling short of Gods expectations. But his sin was not unforgivable. And neither is yours. Have you ever noticed that forgiving has the word giving in it? Forgiveness is Gods giving of grace to you. Forgiveness is God giving you a second chance, a third chance, and more. Forgiveness is Gods renewable resource that gives you a fresh start and a new beginning. I was thinking about this while watching the movie City Slickers. The film is about three middle-aged New Yorkers who decide to take a Western-adventure vacation and participate in a cattle drive. Phils life is a wreck. He is in a dead-end job at his father-in-laws grocery store and is facing a divorce. In one scene he and his buddies are in a tent when Phil breaks down and begins crying. “Im at a dead end!” he sobs. “Im almost 40 years old; Ive wasted my life!” One of his friends tries to console him. “But now youve got a chance to start over,” he says. “Remember when we were kids and wed be playing ball and the ball would get stuck up in a tree or something? Wed yell, Do over!Look, Phil, your life is a do-over. Youve got a clean slate!” But Phil isnt so sure. “Ive got no place to live. Im going to get wiped out in the divorce because Ive committed adultery, so I may never see my kids again. Im alone!” he said. “Hows that slate look now?” As I watched the scene, I thought, How is a guy like Phil ever really going to be helped? And the answer is only through the kind of do-over he can get from God. After all, God is the worlds biggest dispenser of do-overs. He loves granting them to contrite and humble recipients. People like Phil and Jonah and you and me can wish wed never committed the wrongs we have. We can try to paper over them like they never really happened. We can try to deal with them on our own. But God says, “I can erase them so you can start over. I can forgive you and I can help you begin again.” Forgiveness frees you from a debt you could never repay. It casts you on the resources of Gods amazing grace. It restores you to usefulness in society. It removes the torment of guilt. Disobedience Does Not Merit Disqualification Had Jonah disqualified himself as a prophet when he deliberately disobeyed God? Even if Jonah had repented, wouldnt God have been justified in benching him from future service? Disobedience doesnt automatically bar us from later usefulness. David committed adultery and murder, but God renewed him to teach transgressors the divine way through beautiful psalms and hymns. Peter denied Jesus not once but three times, but God reinstated him for service as an influential leader of the early church. John Mark, helper to Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey, defected along the way, but God reshaped his life and he wrote the gospel of Mark. Jonah had run away from his responsibility and his calling, but God reissued the call giving him a second chance. “Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh” (Jonah 3:3). As a result of his obedience and the grace of God, “The Ninevites believed God . . . he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened” (Jonah 3:5, 10). Reject the notion that if you defy Gods will you are forever disbarred from service. Satan likes to muddle your thinking, leading you to believe you are beyond salvage. Dont believe it. God is in the reclamation business. He delights in taking used up, washed up pieces of junk like you and me and transforming us into something beautiful and useful. God never discards a repentant life. Restoration qualifies you for renewed service. No matter the disobedience, God wants to renew, reinstate, and reshape you. Perhaps you feel like the game of your life is over. You made a mistake, you willfully disobeyed, or you rebelled against Gods call. Now hear this: The game of your life is not over. The most meaningless statistic in a basketball or football game is the half-time score. Get up and go back into the game. You have qualities and contributions to make. Not many second chances exist in the world today. But you have a second chance with God. Thats what he does best. Just ask Jonah. One minute he could feel the lining of the fishs stomach and the next he was witnessing revival in epidemic proportions. Its not too late for a second chance. Its never too late to try again, for a do-over, to get back into the game. Its never too late to say to God, “I dont want to squander my life anymore. Let me start over and this time, with the help of your Spirit, Ill do my best to keep my compass pointed in your direction. I want to experience life lived in obedience to you, to feel the thrill of pursuing a mission in life that matters, to know the joy of talking with you rather than running from you. Im in need of your grace and mercy. Please forgive me and give me a new start in life.” God delights to answer such prayers. If you have failed God, sinned against God, or disobeyed God, take hearttheres hope in the God of the second chance. |L |
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