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Your reputation may be hard to reclaim with people, but not with God—if you make reclaiming your relationship with him your top priority. The Book of Jonah is full of God's second chances. First, Jonah nearly drowned, as he must have thought he would. After all, it was his idea that the sailors throw him overboard (1:12). He said that seaweed had wrapped around his head, and he had gone "down to the moorings of the mountains." He expected to be a prisoner there forever (2:5, 6). But God gave him a second chance at life—in the form of a large fish.

Jonah also got a second chance to worship God. Prior to his rescue by means of a fish, Jonah had been running from God. But three days confined in tight quarters gave him plenty of time to pray. By the end of his prayer, Jonah was ready to go back to work—and God gave him a second chance to go to Nineveh. This time Jonah went.

But God's second chances were not just for Jonah. After hearing Jonah's message, the king of Nineveh said to his people, "Let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands" (3:7-9). Once again God offered a second chance—this time to the people of Nineveh. God will do the same for you, if you ask him. (See also Joel 2:12-17; Micah 7:18, 19; Zechariah 10:6-12; Luke 7:36-50; Galatians 1:11-24.)

Good Words to Remember:
I cried out to the LORD, because of my affliction, and he answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. Jonah 2:2

Today's Challenge:
If you long for a second chance, why not ask God today?

Copyright © 2001 by the author or Christianity Today International/Christian Bible Studies.

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