Missing the Boat
There are few more painful emotions than to arrive late to an opportunity, to God’s calling. I have arrived moments too late to board the plane or train upon which I’d built my entire schedule, only to see it disintegrate just by one missed opportunity.
Perhaps you also have missed the purchase of the house of your dreams or the class you need to graduate or the job you desperately wanted or the person the Holy Spirit told you to witness to because you showed up moments too late.
As our hopes are left behind as our ship carries away our purpose, our calling, our future, having its ropes cast off, and with its engines roiling the sea, it pushes out into the deep while we stand on the dock, helpless, pleading with my Lord for one more chance.
God is not the God of Infinite Chances
God is the God of second chances. The Psalmist wrote, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” (Psalms 103:8) However, God’s Word also says, “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:13) God’s Word also states, “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,” (Acts 17:30) And in Isaiah we find, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:6)
God is the God of second chances, but not the God of infinite opportunities. Act now, while it is still called “today.” “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13)
God’s Good News for Us
Before you leave, feeling beat up, let me share two of my all-time favorite verses with you. “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) And Romans 8:31, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?“
Photo by Alonso Reyes on Unsplash
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