Joel Osteen - The God of Another Chance (06/11/2023)
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We’ve all mishandled precious gifts from God—relationships, dreams, opportunities—but just as He gave Moses new tablets after he smashed the first ones in anger and restored Samson’s strength for one final victory, God is full of mercy and offers another chance to fulfill His calling on our lives, no matter how many times we’ve failed.
God Knows Every Mistake—And Still Gives Another Chance!
I want to talk to you today about the God of another chance. We all have opportunities that we have missed—times that we failed. We had something important; we knew God’s calling was on our life. He had given us a dream, a great spouse to love, the door opened for college, but we let distractions, compromise, and other people cause us to get off course.
We look back now and think, «What could I have become if I had been more disciplined, if I had controlled my temper, if I had finished school, if I had forgiven that person?»
Don’t Live in Regrets—Mercy Is Bigger!
It is easy to live in regrets and think our life is limited because of past choices. We knew better—if we had only done better. The good news is: God has taken into account every mistake you would ever make. He has already calculated the times you would fail, the times you would shrink back, the times you would compromise.
That should stop your destiny; it should keep us from our purpose, but we serve the God of another chance. He is full of mercy. When we do not deserve it—when it was our own fault—He could have said, «Too bad, you blew it. I am done with you, ” but He steps in and says, „I have got you covered. I am going to give you another chance.“
Another Chance to Step Into Purpose
Another chance to have a great relationship, another chance to accomplish your dream, another chance to step into your purpose. It is not too late. You have not made too many mistakes. God’s calling is still on your life. He never changes His mind; He does not disqualify you. Now do not disqualify yourself.
See, the enemy is called the accuser: he will remind you of every mistake you have ever made. He would love for you to live down on yourself, thinking that you do not deserve anything good.
The Enemy Wants You Stuck in Shame
He will whisper, „You had God’s blessing, but you squandered it. You had His favor, but you mishandled your marriage—you did not treat it with respect. You mishandled your dream—you got distracted and compromised. You mishandled your talent, your potential. You were not focused; you did not develop what you know is in you.“
That may all be true, but what he does not tell you is there is another chance coming. That God’s mercy is bigger than your mistakes. That God does not give up on you because you mishandled what He gave you.
You’re Prepared By Mistakes—Not Defined By Them
He has another opportunity so you can prove to Him who you really are. You are not defined by your mistakes; you are prepared by your mistakes. Every failure can teach you something. Do not live in regrets—learn from your mistakes, get the lesson out of it so you do not keep repeating it.
When Moses was leading the Israelites toward the Promised Land, God told him to go on top of Mount Sinai, and He was going to speak to him. Moses was up there for 40 days.
Moses and the Smashed Tablets
At one point there was this great cloud that encompassed the mountain and a huge lightning and thunderstorm. That is when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments—these two stone tablets where the hand of God inscribed instructions for the Israelites. It was a powerful, holy, majestic moment.
I can imagine seeing two pieces of stone, and suddenly these letters begin to be written. I am sure Moses was standing there in awe, amazed at what he was seeing.
Anger Caused Moses to Throw It All Away
Well, the cloud passed by, the thunder stopped, and Moses went back down the mountain. As he got closer, he focused in and saw a gold calf the people had made. They were dancing, partying, worshiping this idol. He could not believe it! He had just been gone for 40 days, and the people had already turned away from Jehovah.
When he got to the bottom, he was so angry and so frustrated: he raised up these two stone tablets—something sacred God had given him, something amazing he had been entrusted with—but in his anger he threw the tablets down, and they smashed into pieces on the ground.
We’ve All Mishandled Something Sacred
I can imagine God thinking, „Moses, I just gave you something incredibly valuable—one of a kind, something that I have never done—and you just threw it down? You let your anger, your frustration throw away the priceless gift that I gave you?“
It is easy to judge Moses and think, „Man, how could he mishandle something that important? How could he throw away a one-of-a-kind gift like that?“ But how many of us have mishandled something incredibly valuable that God has given us?
Relationships Are Sacred—Don’t Throw Them Away
Maybe not stone tablets with His writing, but we mishandled a relationship: we let our anger, our pride, having to be right tear us apart. We mishandled the position God gave us: we were not focused; we did not give it our full effort—it is like we threw it away.
Or how about the calling on our life: we knew God destined us to set a new standard for our family, to break negative cycles, to come out of lack and defeat, but we gave in to compromise—we hung around the wrong people; we did not take it seriously.
Protect What God Has Entrusted to You
The truth is: we have all mismanaged some things. We have all let anger, disappointment, self-pity cause us to not value the gifts that God has given us. It is interesting that Moses was frustrated because other people would not do what is right. He threw down this priceless gift because the Israelites were compromising and giving in to temptation.
Sometimes we can let what others are doing—how society is acting, the division, the dysfunction around us—cause us to become angry and bitter, where we mishandle what God has given us.
Don’t Let Chaos Steal Your Peace
You cannot make everyone do what is right; you cannot make the culture live according to God’s word. Yes, we are going to be bright lights; we are going to do what we can, but do not throw down what God has entrusted you with because of all the chaos around you.
Protect your gift, protect your family, protect your integrity, protect your holiness, protect your peace. It is easy to mishandle the tablets—live frustrated, angry, mad at people, divisive. That is the trick of the enemy to try to get you to smash what God has given you.
God Rewrote the Tablets—He’ll Restore You Too!
God could have said, „Moses, you threw down something sacred. Is that how you are going to treat what I have given you? Then fine, I am done with you. You are never going to have that again. That was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.“ If God gave us what we deserve, Moses would have been done.
But here is how good God is: Moses asked for forgiveness; he prayed for the people for their compromise. God said to him in Deuteronomy 10:1-2, „Prepare two stone tablets like the first ones. Go back up the mountain, and I will write the same words that were on the ones you smashed.“
Go Back Up the Mountain—Mercy Awaits!
Think of the mercy of God! This was not a loaf of manna that Moses threw down; it was not his walking stick—this was a one-of-a-kind gift that God had given him! God said in effect, „Moses, I know you blew it—you let your anger get the best of you; you smashed something sacred; you mishandled something priceless—but if you will go back up that mountain, I will give it to you again.“
He is the God of another chance. You may have mishandled some things—missed opportunities, had relationships soured, mismanaged the blessing and favor on your life. God is saying to you what He said to Moses: if you will go back up that mountain—if you will start believing again—God is going to give you back what you thought was done.
God Puts Broken Pieces Back Together
What was broken, what you messed up, what you mishandled—God has another chance coming. You may have thrown it down, but He knows how to put it back together. Your anger, the compromise, the frustration may have set you back, but God is waiting for you up on the mountain.
Do not let guilt keep you from going back up; do not let regrets—what you should have done, what you smashed—convince you that it is too late, it is never going to happen. No, God is saying, „Meet Me on the mountain.“
Quit Low Thoughts—Come Up Higher!
That means quit thinking these low thoughts—defeated thoughts, guilty thoughts, „seen my best days“ thoughts. If you will come up higher, God is going to fix what you smashed; He is going to restore what you threw down; He is going to give you another chance at what you mismanaged.
I can hear Moses saying, „God, are You sure? You want me to go back up on the mountain? You saw me throw down the tablets; You saw them shatter into pieces; You saw my anger get the best of me—it was my fault.“
Mercy Says: „I Don’t Give Up on You“
God said, „Moses, that is what My mercy is all about. I do not give up on you. I do not write you off. I give you another chance to become who I have created you to be.“ Like with Moses, there is another chance waiting for you.
But how many of us will not go back up the mountain? We are down on ourselves: „Look what I have done—I mishandled the relationship with my children; now we are at odds. I mishandled my gifts—did not pay attention in school; did not put forth the effort. I mishandled the calling on my life—I used to be close to God; I used to pray, read my Bible, keep Him in first place, but I have drifted away.“
A Mother’s Restored Relationship
It is not too late: God is waiting for you up on the mountain! He has another chance; He is going to write those same words that were on the first tablets you smashed—not a watered-down version, not almost as good. No, you can still reach the fullness of your destiny!
I talked to this mother—she and her daughter had always been the best of friends. They loved hanging out together, but when the daughter got in her late teens, they started having conflict—just contentious—and the mother did not like some of the choices the daughter was making.
Words Can Wound—But God Can Heal
She was constantly riding her. She would get upset and say things she should not—make hurtful comments. Well, their relationship came to an end. The daughter moved out, and they did not speak to each other anymore.
This mother was so heavy and so heartbroken. She loved her daughter more than anything in the world, but she knew she did not handle things like she should. She let her emotions get the best of her, and she was carrying all this guilt and living in regrets, thinking, „Look what you have done—you are a terrible mother. You have ruined the very thing that you loved the most; now your daughter will not even see you.“
Relationships Are Priceless Gifts
Like these sacred tablets, our relationships are sacred. God gives us people in life to love. Do not treat them like they are ordinary, just common—they are a priceless gift from God. He has entrusted you with His most valuable possession—not a stone tablet, but someone He made in His own image, someone He calls a masterpiece.
Do not throw around hurtful words—saying things that wound and degrade and make them feel not valuable. Use your words to lift, to encourage, to push people forward and not to set them back.
God Restored What Was Shattered
When we recognize something is sacred, we should treat it with more respect. Well, several years went by—this mother and daughter had not spoken to each other. The mother was praying and believing; she knew God could restore, but there was not any sign of it.
One day I was having a book signing in Chicago; the mother and daughter showed up at the store. They did not know it, but they had both been watching us on television. When they saw each other in line, something supernatural happened—all the hurt, the bitterness, the anger was suddenly washed away.
Tears of Joy After Years Apart
Their hearts were filled afresh with love, with joy, with friendship. They came up to the table weeping. With tears of joy the mother said, „I never thought I would see this day. I never dreamed I would feel what I feel.“ Today they are back to being best of friends just like they were before.
But maybe you have mishandled a relationship, mishandled your finances, mishandled your dream. God is not holding your faults against you.
God Calls Back—Again and Again!
There was a lady in the Scripture named Hannah. She had been praying for years to have a baby, and she told God, „If You will give me a child, I will take him to the temple and dedicate him to You.“ She finally had a son that she named Samuel.
He was 12 years old, living in the temple, serving the priest Eli. One night while Samuel was sleeping, he heard a voice saying, „Samuel, Samuel.“ He got up and ran into Eli’s room, said, „Yes, sir—what do you need?“ Eli said, „I did not call you; I do not need anything.“
Samuel Missed It—But God Kept Calling
Samuel went back to bed; he heard it again—“Samuel!”—jumped back up, ran into Eli’s room. Same thing—“I did not call you.» It happened a third time. This time when he came in Eli’s room, Eli realized what was happening. He said, «Samuel, the next time you hear that voice, answer back, ‘Yes, Lord—Your servant is listening.’»
Went back to bed—a few minutes later he heard the voice calling his name. This time he stayed there and said, «Lord, I am listening.» God spoke to him and told him what was going to happen and gave him instruction for his life.
Three Strikes? Not With Our God!
But what if God would have thought, «Samuel, I called you the first time, but you did not recognize My voice. I had something great for you—it was important—but too bad, you missed it.» No, our God is the God who calls back.
You may have missed it the first time—you did not obey; you were too busy—that is okay. You missed it the second time—you were off course, compromising—that is all right. You missed it the third time: usually three strikes and you are out, but not with our God.
God Never Quits Calling You
He called back the fourth time—then Samuel recognized His voice; then he obeyed. But if Samuel would have missed the fourth time, God would have called the fifth time, the sixth time, the twentieth time. Some of you are on God’s call number 6233!
God is not going to give up on you; He is going to keep calling back, giving you opportunities to step into your purpose, to break negative cycles, to set new standards, to accomplish your dream.
Listen for That Still Small Voice
Maybe you did not answer the first time, the second time, the third time—neither did Samuel. He was a great prophet. Quit beating yourself up; quit thinking you are disqualified: another chance is coming—he is the God who calls back.
Now, maybe the reason you are not answering that call is like Samuel: you do not recognize His voice. You have all these other voices telling you what to do, where to go, who to be, but there is a still small voice on the inside—that is your Creator speaking to you; that is the voice of your Heavenly Father.
Answer the Call—Purpose Awaits!
Sometimes with all the noise and distractions and opinions, that voice can be drowned out. You have to be still and listen. God knows what is best for you. The reason He keeps calling is He has something amazing in your future.
When you answer that call, you will step into purpose, peace, fulfillment that you have never known. Next time you hear that voice—instead of ignoring it, pushing it down—say like Samuel, «Yes, Lord—I am listening. Show me what You want me to do.»
70 Years Later—He Finally Answered
A friend of mine went to a concert where this famous jazz drummer was performing. He is 75 years old and very well known in the music world. An hour into the concert he started playing and singing «Amazing Grace.» He normally did not do that, but for some reason this night he did.
He got halfway through and could not remember the words. He asked if anyone in the audience knew it and would come up and sing it. My friend raised his hand, and they brought him up on the stage—he began to sing «Amazing Grace.»
God’s Call Never Expires
He looked back and saw this man had tears welling up in his eyes. He was so moved; he asked my friend to come backstage after the concert. What my friend did not know was this man’s father was a minister. As a little boy he was raised in church, but at five years old his father left him and all of his siblings.
He was so hurt and so angry; he determined to never have anything to do with God. For 70 years he had ignored the call—would not listen to anything about faith. All that time he had a praying mother back home, believing that one day he would come back.
Samson’s Final Victory—One More Time!
My friend knew nothing about this, but he looked at this man in the eyes and said, «Sir, God’s calling is still on your life. You need to return to the faith you had as a little boy.» He began to weep and weep. That night—after 70 years—he finally answered the call and gave his life to Christ.
But here is my point: you would think at some point God would quit calling—“You have had so many chances; you have ignored Me so many times—I am done with you.» No, He is the God who keeps calling back—the God who gives you another chance.
Samson Squandered His Strength—But God Restored It
Think about Samson in the Scripture. His birth was prophesied: an angel appeared to his mother and said that she was going to have a baby that would be a deliverer. There was a calling on his life even before he was born.
Samson grew up with incredible strength. One time he was trapped inside a city and was surrounded by high walls—the gates were locked. It looked like he would be captured, but in the middle of the night he went out to the city gates—these huge iron entrances—he ripped them out of the ground, put them on his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the hill.
Don’t Play With Your God-Given Gift
He could not be contained. He had something unusual, something sacred. He knew it was not common; he knew God’s hand was on him, but he got sloppy—he started hanging around the wrong people. They tried to figure out the secret of his strength.
Instead of protecting what God had entrusted him with—valuing that gift—he let his guard down. He started telling riddles to the enemies, playing with them, seeing if they could figure out the source of his strength. It is significant that he used riddles—that is showing us that he did not take seriously what God had given him. He was playing with his talent, playing with his potential, playing with his strength.
One Final Chance—Greater Victory Than Ever
If you do not see that as valuable, you will end up mishandling it. Moses in anger threw down the Ten Commandments. Samson in compromise threw down his potential. Well, the Philistines figured it out and cut his hair—he lost all of his power.
They not only captured him, but they gouged out his eyes; they put him in chains. This once powerful man—prophesied to do great things, supernatural favor on his life—now he is blind, chained, and grinding at the mill. It is nobody’s fault except his own. He had the strength, but he squandered it. He had the favor, but he mishandled it.
Your Past Doesn’t Cancel God’s Plan
What do you do when you brought the trouble on yourself? You had the stone tablets, but you threw them down. You had the strength, the marriage, the position, the children—God gave you something sacred, but you let it slip away.
God could have said, «Samson, you are getting what you deserve, man. I should have found somebody more disciplined that would not compromise—I am done with you.» No, God never writes you off. He is going to call you back again and again.
Another Chance Is Coming—Believe It!
These Philistines were out having a big party, celebrating their victory. They brought Samson out to make fun of him. It looks like that is how his life would end—in defeat, in shame—but the Scripture says that the Spirit of God came on Samson one more time.
Look at the mercy of God: after he squandered the strength, mishandled his calling, walked away from what he was prophesied to do—you mean God would give him another chance? That is the God we serve! The God who calls back when you do not deserve it! The God who rewrites what you threw away!
New Doors, Restored Dreams—It’s Not Too Late!
As they were making fun of Samson, he felt this supernatural strength come on him like before. He pushed over these two large pillars that were holding up the building. It came crashing down. He defeated more Philistines in his death than he did his whole life.
Like Samson, you may have mishandled some things—you think, «If I could do it over, I would make better choices; I would treat my spouse better; I would be more focused; I would not let my emotions cause me to throw down the sacred in my life.»
You do not have to live in regrets—God is going to give you another chance! Another chance for that relationship to flourish, another chance to accomplish your dream, another chance to answer the call on your life.
Go Up the Mountain—Your Destiny Awaits!
It is not too late! You may have missed the other times—that is okay; He is calling back today! You would not be hearing this if He was not about to do something amazing in your life.
Now you have to do your part and go back up the mountain! Quit living guilty, thinking you have blown it too many times. Nothing you have done has stopped your purpose: another chance is coming!
I believe and declare: like Moses, God is going to rewrite what you shattered. Like Samson, His Spirit is going to come on you one more time. New doors opening, relationships restored, dreams coming to pass—the fullness of your destiny, in Jesus’ name. And if you receive it, can you say amen?