This prophetic word is titled A Second Chance. This month God is giving many people a second chance. A time to start over and fix the things that you did wrong. A new beginning to make better choices and get a different outcome. It is time to try again if you failed before.
I want to share with you instances in the Bible where people were given a second chance. Perhaps one of these stories, is your story. Use it as inspiration to move forward and give it another try. Go again!
~~~~~~~~~
Imagine being gifted as a prophet and God calls you to use the gifting He gave you and in that moment because of your own personal feelings you decide to opt out. You said NO! Only to find yourself in the lowest valley because you allowed your feelings to stand in the way of your calling.
If you knew then what you know now perhaps you would’ve handle the situation with a little more spiritual maturity.
Well the only thing needed is repentance, for turning your own way and following your flesh. Read Jonah 2
What was God’s response after the repentance?
Jonah 3:1-3a
Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying,2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh,
Your repentance clears the way for God to release further instructions and now a second chance can given.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Imagine walking with Jesus, having Him teach you personally. Sharing such a close relationship with Him. He teaches you all you need to know. None of the words He spoke to you fell to the ground. You saw the miracles. You experienced the miracles. You performed the miracles. The Son of the Living God and God Himself was your companion. Yet, after all of that in a brief moment when you should’ve done the right thing, you did the wrong thing. You denied Him. You didn’t honor the relationship. You chose yourself instead of standing up for Him which would’ve been the right thing to do in that moment Why? Because the pressure of circumstances made you uncomfortable and afraid. Acknowledging it in that moment would reveal something about you that you didn’t want revealed. It wasn’t convenient and it would cost you. You knew the right thing to do, but you chose to do the wrong thing because it suited you in that moment.
What now? There has to be a level of embarrassment, maybe even shame, because you can’t go back and fix it. It already happened. Those involved knew exactly what you did. You denied Him.
So now He’s gone to heaven and you think “that’s it, I messed up might as well just go back to doing what I was doing before He came into our lives”. You’re sad but what else can you do at this time?
Then one day He shows up. It didn’t even look like Him but you knew it was and now you start overcompensating to try and make up for the mistake hoping that He would just give you one more chance. You need to prove to Him that it was just a bad decision that happened in a split second that you are now paying the consequences for it, mentally and emotionally. Read Luke 22:54-62
He gives you a second chance. But notice how He does it, He asks the simple question, “do you love Me?”
John 21:15-19
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.”19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”
Why is He focused on love? Because the bad decision was made because Peter was more focused on himself. Saving himself. Saving face. It was selfish and he was only thinking about himself. There was no love there for the Lord. So the Lord asks him to focus on his love for the Lord in order to make the right decision when things get difficult. When persecution comes. When things are not going the way you thought they should or the mission shows up in a package you didn’t expect.
Your second chance comes when you focus on loving the Lord to do what He asks of you instead of focusing on yourself. How else will you survive the last days? The coming persecution without denying Christ? Your love for Him is the only thing that will make you stand.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Imagine being so powerful that you persecuted many people, did bad things because you thought you were right. You were prideful and thought that absolutely no one would be able to stop you. Read Acts 8:1-3. Then one day GOD stopped you by taking something away from you that was so precious.
It humbled you and now you are lost.
You’re sitting in a place where you don’t know where to go or what to do. Completely humbled, God sends someone to get you up from that place. You get the second chance to be transformed and become someone else.
Acts 9:17-19
17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened.
God not only has the ability to restore what was taken but He can use it as a powerful testimony as you serve Him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Imagine that you got abandoned by your parents and was raised in a place where you felt you didn’t belong. You see people being persecuted and you felt you have more in common with them than the ones who raised you.
Somehow through a series of events you end up killing someone and now you are running for your life and there are people coming after you that know that you committed this crime. Read Exodus 2
Then God appears and tells you to back to the very place where you’ve been running from. It’s a second chance but now you’re thinking, how am I going to go back there when there are people looking for me to kill me? Then He tells you that He took care of all of that and now you have nothing to worry about but to go back and do what He’s asking you to do in the same place you escaped.
Exodus 4:19-20
19 And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.
Sometimes when we are given a second chance, God will clean up the mess we’ve made so we don’t even face the consequences that we should because HE has us on assignment there! He can fix anything so that you can fulfill the purpose He has on your life.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Imagine that God has blessed you with power, influence and position and you have an incredibly close relationship with Him. Then one day you use that power and position to do something really bad. You did it because you wanted something but it cost someone else their life.
Then God goes silent on you for one whole year.
Because you haven’t even acknowledged that you did something wrong, He sends someone to tell you. Just imagine the shock and embarrassment that someone else knows your sin. I’ve found that when powerful men or women of God don’t repent, the Lord always tells a watchman or a prophet. It is never a secret forever! He wants us to repent but when we refuse, He’ll tell it to someone else to either confront us or to pray so that it can be handled and sin doesn’t continue and others suffer as a result of it.
Sometimes there are consequences for your actions. You pay for what you did wrong and then you get restored. The key is to acknowledge the sin, repent and you don’t have the privilege of being upset because of the consequences. In these instances, you just thank the Lord that He can still use you in His plan even though you messed up in the past. He forgives and then He restores so that you have a second chance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Imagine that you did some terrible things, they were wrong, you know it but worse other people know it too. Now you are being judged, persecuted and held back in life because of those things.
God can forgive all the mistakes that you have made. Sometimes we sin intentionally. At this point it’s not a mistake it’s outright sin and making bad choices. A bad decision. Well, God can forgive those too.
Understand that in forgiveness, sometimes others won’t forgive you. You should never take the fact that someone else didn’t forgive you as a sign that God isn’t going to forgive you. This is not how it works.
We tend to hold on to things as humans when God has forgiven it a long time ago.
Acknowledge it, repent for it and receive His forgiveness. Then you can move forward with your life and enjoy your second chance. Read John 8:1-11
God will never endorse our sin. The second chance comes when we walk away from the sin.
John 8:10-11
10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Imagine you have a friend/coworker who was always there supporting and doing the work with you and then one day you have a disagreement and the two of you part ways. Read Acts 15:36-41
It wasn’t anything major but you just parted ways.
All-of-a-sudden, they find themselves in a bind and they send for you to come help them. Yep, the same one because it took a certain set of circumstances, all the other people who were with them walked away, for them to actually see your value.
2 Timothy 4:9-13
9 Do your best to come to me soon. 10 For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia,[b] Titus to Dalmatia. 11 Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. 12 Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments.
Whatever you do, don’t give them an attitude if they reach out to you for help. Because everybody deserves a second chance.
Now if they do it again, you have a pattern of behavior and you can address it accordingly. But, sometimes people make mistakes, mishandle a situation or they were just taking advice from the wrong people. They deserve a second chance.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Did you see yourself in any of these stories? It’s time for your second chance and in some instances you need to extend it to others as well.
Now please do this before you move forward, pray about this word and ask the Lord if it is for you and if you should really follow through on giving this person a second chance. You don’t want to open doors on relationships that God meant to stay closed. Therefore, prayer is needed. Also, if there is an area where you need a second chance then you need to ask the Lord about that as well. Perhaps it is time for you to try again, the door may be opened to you this time.
Blessings!
