Priscilla Shirer - Find Hope in the God of Second Chances
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Summary
Priscilla Shirer reflects on childhood memories of asking for «do-overs» in games like double Dutch, drawing a parallel to God’s abundant grace that offers second chances, spotlighting Jonah 3:1 where «the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time» after his rebellion. She celebrates God’s persistent mercy seen throughout Scripture—from Adam and Eve, Moses, Noah, Ruth, and Rahab to Jonah—showing He redeems failures and messes for His glory and others' benefit. The key truth is that no mistake disqualifies us from God’s purposes; His unchanging instructions, empowering presence, and transforming grace turn our «leftovers» into something beautiful when we arise and obey.
Opening Prayer
Lord, I thank you that your word is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword. Lord, you know that every time I come to the pages of Scripture, I come with a holy reverence and with awe at the fact that you would want to speak to us through your word.
Thank you, Lord, that you have not only provided a means through which we can hear your voice but that you, by your Holy Spirit, will give us ears to hear what it is that you want to say to us today. We are before you now, Lord, willing, open, and ready to receive a word straight from the mouth of God.
Ready to Receive
Do what you came to do, Lord. Take this one little message. Would you divide it however many hundreds or even thousands of ways that you need to so that every single person under the sound of my voice will know beyond a shadow of a doubt that today they have heard the voice of God, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Childhood Games
When I was growing up, I played outside a whole lot with a bunch of friends from the neighborhood. You know, that was back in the olden days when that’s what kids did. We didn’t have much to do indoors; we were always outside.
My parents would let us stay out throughout the day, and then into the evening, they would tell us that when those street lights came on, we needed to be headed back in. But during those hours we were outdoors with our friends, we had a blast.
Hide-and-Seek and Jump Rope
You know, we just made up games — stuff like tag and games like hide-and-go-seek. Especially as the sun began to go down, hide-and-seek became even more fun. We also played hopscotch, you know, old-school stuff like that, jump rope.
Now, I will tell you that I was never really adept at jumping rope. I was fairly good at it, but the girls who were incredible at jump roping couldn’t just jump one rope like me; they could jump double Dutch.
Double Dutch and Do-Overs
So, two of the friends would stand on either side of two ropes, and they would get a cadence and a rhythm going with these two ropes. Then another one of the friends would jump in at just the right time, able to keep her balance and maintain the rhythm and cadence as she jumped from one leg to the next.
I was always mesmerized by the girls who did that. When I tried, I would give it my best shot, but very frequently, almost as soon as I started, I would get tripped up. And when I got tripped up, even as well as I was, I would always pause and say, «Hey, hey, can I get a do-over?»
Asking for Grace
Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard that phrase or not, but it’s one that my friends and I tossed around a whole lot when we were younger. Can I get a do-over? That was our way of saying, «Hey, I need one more chance. Hey, can you give me just a little bit of grace? Give me an opportunity to get one more go at that, one more opportunity to try again and do it better next time.»
When I think of that phrase, getting a do-over, I realize that it’s not just good for childhood play that every now and then when I look back over my relationship with the Lord, I have looked up to the heavens and said, «Lord, can I get a do-over?»
Needing Second Chances
What I’m asking for is a little bit of grace and mercy, an opportunity to redo something that, even if I was well-intended, I made a mess of or I made a mistake or I had some missteps along the way.
And the truth be told, if we were just to take a few minutes — I mean, if I were in the room with you today and we were just to take a few minutes to just, you know, start from the very first row and head all the way to the back, and we just took a microphone and passed it around the entire room, the reality is that we would be together not just for days, but weeks and months of all of us chronicling the many, many times that God, in His grace, in His mercy, in His goodness, in His patience, in His flat-out kindness, has been willing to give us a do-over.
God’s Grace in Scripture
This theme of God’s grace and His mercy runs rampant throughout all of the Scriptures. But one of the places where it is most clearly seen, and where the Lord has drawn my attention time and time again, really to a point of celebration about how gracious He is towards any of us who have ever needed a do-over in a different season of our lives or a different point in our journey, where we have not done what we should have done.
Maybe we didn’t know at the time — until hindsight when we looked back — that we’d made a misstep, or maybe there have been times where we knew upfront that we were making the wrong choice, and still, God, in His grace and mercy, was willing to give us a second chance.
Jonah’s Second Chance
There is a place in Scripture where that is most clearly seen, and it’s in a small phrase that’s found in a small verse in a small book of the Bible in the Old Testament. It’s this book of the Bible that honestly we don’t go to quite frequently.
If your pages stick together in your Bible, you know, if you still actually use an old-school Bible with paper pages like I do, if your pages stick together, this would be one of those books that you wouldn’t even notice was there, because it is tucked away within the last books of the Old Testament Scriptures.
The Word Came a Second Time
It is the book of Jonah. He’s one of the famous prophets that is written about in the Old Testament. His name is the same as the book that bears his name, Jonah. And in Jonah chapter 3, verse 1, we read this very simple yet poignant and powerful statement about his narrative.
Jonah 3:1 says, «Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time.» Ooh, let’s just pause right there, because if I didn’t read anything else in these four little simple short chapters in this small little book bearing this prophet’s name, if I didn’t read anything else, that would be enough to cause us to pause for a moment to think back over the story, the things that he’s already lived through and gone through, and all of the details that, because of how famous this prophet is, we kind of have a handle on some of those things.
Celebrating God’s Mercy
It is this statement right here that causes us to pause in celebration as we look at the fact that God has given this guy a do-over. He has given him a second chance. In this one little verse, the word of the Lord coming to this prophet a second time.
It immediately reminds us that this is not the first time that God has spoken to him. This is not the first time that he has tried to get Jonah on board with His purposes and His plans. This is a second opportunity.
We’ve All Needed Do-Overs
And if you are anything like me, then you know you have been at many points in your life and mine, not just in need of a second chance, but can I get a witness that you’ve needed a third chance, a fourth chance, a fifth chance, a tenth chance? Anybody ever needed a twentieth chance?
And God, in His goodness and mercy, opened up your ears, opened up your heart, set you on a new path, gave you an opportunity to recalibrate your perspective, your words, your vision, until it was in alignment with who God has called you to be and what it is that He has asked you to do.
Grateful for Multiple Chances
This phrase, every time I read it, compels me to want to get down on my knees and say, «Thank you, Lord, for the many times that your word has come to me.» Not just the first time. I’m grateful for that, too. But the times when you’ve been willing to let your word come to me a second time, I’m so grateful for the grace of God that is sufficient, the mercy of God that is boundless, the loving-kindness of God that is vast, His anger that is so slow, His patience that is perfect, and His goodness and His graciousness that persistently keeps coming for us time and time again.
Underlining in My Bible
Now, I don’t know if you underline stuff in your Bible like I do. I’ve got some dates out in the margin here and there. I’ve got some underlines and some highlights that are scattered throughout this little Bible that honestly I’ve had since I was 17 years old.
The binding is a little torn; I need to get this all hemmed up and taken care of. But this Bible is precious to me. My parents gave it to me when I was 17 years old.
A Chronicle of My Journey
And so the things that I have underlined and the colors and the things that I’ve got marked, the dates that are written in the margins really are a chronicle of my journey with God. An opportunity for me to look back on a certain date and see something that God spoke to my heart, a time when by His Holy Spirit, He was highlighting a portion of His word that He was using to draw me back from times when I have been walking in rebellion or when my back has been turned on God, or maybe when I’ve been trying to sort of circumvent His instruction because it wasn’t comfortable or convenient.
He uses His word to continue to speak to us and to compel us to come back to Him. And one of the things that I have underlined in my Scriptures is this one line, the word of the Lord coming to Jonah a second time.
Second Chances for Us
Because if the word of the Lord came to that guy a second time, then I know that the word of the Lord is available to come to you and to me, giving us a second chance. I wonder if you’ve needed a second chance.
I wonder if you look back over your history and can just pause for a moment and celebrate the goodness and grace of God to you, giving you another opportunity that you did not deserve.
He Didn’t Shelf Us
Giving you another opportunity to walk in His purposes when, honestly, if left to our own devices, He should have put us up on the shelf a long time ago. Especially since He does not need us to partner with Him in His kingdom purposes in order for them to be fulfilled.
It is His grace and His mercy, His goodness and His kindness to us that allows us the privilege to partner with Him. And so His mercy is most beautifully shown when we look back over our history and realize the times we’ve tried to circumvent Him or ignore Him or push off what He’s asked us to do, procrastinating when He has given us clarity on what His goals and His plans are, what His will is for us in a day, or a week or a month or a certain season of our lives, as husbands and wives, parents, single men and women, as children, employers, employees, and ministry leaders.
When We Rebelled
When God has given us clarity and we stubbornly, hard-heartedly turned our back on Him. There is good news for you if you find yourself in that place today. He is a God of second chances.
And I want you to know that God’s grace is sufficient for even you, even me. Meaning there is nothing that you have done. There is nowhere that you have been. You have not fallen so far or gone backward so many steps.
His Arm Is Not Too Short
You have not dug a pit for yourself that is so deep that His arm now is too short that He cannot save you; that His ear is too dull that He cannot hear you. You and I are not powerful enough to escape the goodness and grace and mercy of God.
The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, and the word of the Lord continues to come to us, beckoning us, calling us, inviting us into a window of opportunity where we can get back on board with God’s plans and purposes for our life and in conjunction with His kingdom agenda.
Redemption Throughout Scripture
This theme of redemption, this theme of do-overs and second chances, is not just found in this one book, but sprinkled throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament, there is indicator after indicator of God’s willingness, of His desire, of His intensity regarding wanting to give humankind an opportunity to be in relationship with Him and to get in step with His purposes and plans for them.
Right from the very beginning of the book, Adam and Eve, they’re in a perfect environment with a perfect relationship with the one true God. They are given every opportunity and freedom to explore all that this good, gracious God has given them access to.
Adam and Eve’s Second Chance
There is just one boundary, and just like we humans do, they rebelled against that one boundary. They went their own way. And as a result of that, sin proliferated so much so that it looked like their opportunity to be in relationship with God, their opportunity to enjoy what God had given them access to — while that did shift, it looked like it would be over with no hope and no possibility at all because of their failure.
And yet, we see the God of do-overs, the God of a second chance, even after Cain kills Abel and now murder has entered the scene, and sin has proliferated so much so that it has totally destroyed and marred what it is that God intended to do with them and through them.
Seth and Worship Restored
Even when it seemed like all hope was lost, the God of do-overs and second chances shows up because Genesis chapter 3 and 4 tells us that in His grace and mercy, He allowed Adam and Eve to come back together again. And they gave birth to a baby boy named Seth.
And Seth gave birth to a baby boy named Enosh. And I don’t know what it was about this grandbaby of Adam and Eve, but I do know that Genesis chapter 4 says that when Enosh was born, this second chance, when he was born, everybody began to worship God again.
For Generations to Come
There’s something about seeing God operating in the second chances that oftentimes we don’t see the beauty of the bounty of the profundity of until we look into the eyes of our children and our grandchildren and we realize that His grace and mercy, our second chance, wasn’t just about us but it was about those who were coming after us. Ask Adam and Eve. They’re a witness that He is a God of second chances.
Moses in the Wilderness
And if you can’t get to Adam and Eve, then just flip over to the book of Exodus, and you’ll find a man named Moses. A man who we find in Exodus chapter 3, sitting in a wilderness, a dry, barren, desolate wilderness that is a consequence of his own making.
He was raised as the prince of Egypt. But one day, he sees one of those Egyptian taskmasters brutally abusing one of his Hebrew brethren, and he takes matters into his own hands. He slays and murders that Egyptian taskmaster, and as a result of that, he is exiled into the wilderness for 40 years.
Bushes Burn in Deserts
Now this guy was raised as the prince of Egypt. So now he is shepherding sheep in the desert, doing a job that is below his pay grade and educational level. But there he is, sitting in the consequence of his own making.
I wonder if today you’re like Moses. You are in a dry, dusty, barren, desolate wilderness season of your life. And honestly, when you think back on it, it’s not an accident that you’re there. You can look back and realize that it was a decision you made; it was a choice that you made; it was a word that you said; it was a rebellious path that you chose. It was you. You did it. I did it. It was the consequence of our own sin.
But God’s grace and mercy is so good that you need to know today that bushes can still burn in deserts.
The Burning Bush
And so one day, even while Moses is in the environment of his own making, the consequences of his own choices, the do-over comes in the form of a burning bush. And God commissions him to now have a second chance.
And at 80 years old, he becomes the leader of the entire nation of Israel, the great liberator, leading them out of captivity and into freedom and victory and the abundance of the promised land. Ask Moses. He’ll tell you that he’s a great big God who is in the business of giving second chances.
Noah’s Ark
And if you can’t get to Adam and Eve and you can’t find Moses to ask him, well, just ask Noah how he was the conduit of a second chance, not only for himself and for his family and loved ones, but ultimately for us, too, because the entire world needed to be destroyed by a flood.
But God went and found Noah. And He said, «Noah, if you’ll join me in my purposes, I’m going to use you to be the conduit for the second chance for the entirety of humanity who have turned their backs on me. Even though I’ve come running for them to continue to demonstrate my love for them, they’ve continued to rebel and turn their backs on me. But Noah, if you’ll build an ark, and if you’ll bring your family members, your loved ones on this ark, and every animal two by two, then I’m going to give all of humanity a second chance.»
Ruth’s Redemption
Oh yes, this redemption threads itself throughout the Old and New Testaments. Just in case you were wondering, it’s not just the men that receive second chances, but oh, there are some women that, if they had time to tell you their testimony, would let you know that He is a God of do-overs.
There’s a woman named Ruth who would tell you the story because she had a testimony. You know, this was a woman whose the beginning of her story is marked by grief and loss and relocation, where she is a foreigner in a place where she feels lonely and isolated and marginalized by people who really don’t want to have much to do with this Moabite who has shown up on Bethlehem soil.
From Ashes to Beauty
And despite the first half of her story, we see God giving Ruth a second chance. Because at the right time, her kinsman redeemer named Boaz shows up, and his life intersects with hers. Boaz and Ruth come together, and they give birth to a baby boy named Obed.
And Obed gives birth to Jesse. And Jesse gives birth to a little baby boy named David. King David. Ask Ruth. She’ll tell you He is a God who is able to take ashes and make beautiful things out of them, messes and turn that whole thing into a beautiful message about the astounding grace and glory and goodness of God to be able to turn stories around with second chances.
In the Lineage of Christ
Because, you know, King David, by virtue of his relationship with Ruth, Ruth is now in the lineage of the Messiah of Jesus Christ. Ruth could have had no way of knowing that, after all the grief and all the tears and all the loss and all of the journey that she had been on, anything that powerful could have come of her story.
But now she was a witness to the fact that He is a God of second chances who can do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond anything that you can ask or think.
Rahab’s Story
Still not sure? Ask Rahab. Rahab will tell you she had made a mess of her own life, making choices and decisions and many of those relegated upon her by the society in which she lived. And there she was in one house in a wall around a city named Jericho.
But the opportunity came where God gave her a second chance. And when the walls of Jericho came tumbling down, so did the history that she had brought with her into that moment. Because when everything around her crumbled, her house stood standing as a testimony to the fact that our God is able to give anybody, no matter what your story is, no matter what your history is, He is able not only to give you a second chance but to turn that second chance into something miraculous.
Women in the Genealogy
Because there are very few names of women in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ. But you ask Ruth, and she’ll tell you her name is there. And if you ask Rahab, she will point to her name as a woman who was given a second opportunity.
I’m just trying to encourage you today that there is nothing you have done; there is nowhere I have been; there is no mistake we have made or no obvious choice of rebellion that we have traveled down that puts us out of the reach of the God who gives do-overs.
Cause for Celebration
And that right there is cause for celebration. The opportunity for us to experience all the goodness and mercy and grace that is available to us, that the hound of heaven keeps chasing us down to bestow upon us.
I mean, it’s enough that He gave us a first chance, but the fact that He keeps not just making available, but chasing us down to give us a second, a third, and a fourth, and that twentieth chance that you’ve needed or that I’ve needed? That fact alone is cause to make us want to live a life of complete gratitude at the astounding greatness that the hound of heaven continues to give to us.
The Hound of Heaven
The prophet Isaiah wrote God’s words in this way in Isaiah 65:1-3. Listen to him describing God speaking to His people. God says, «I permitted myself to be found by those who didn’t even ask for me. I permitted myself to be found by those who didn’t even seek me.»
And then He pictures Himself as a man standing in the street, waving down His people. He says, «Here I am. Here I am, » to a nation that is not even calling on My name. «I’ve spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people who walk in the way which is not good. They keep on following their own thoughts. They continually provoke Me to My face. But I’m the hound of heaven who keeps on coming for My people to give them an opportunity for a second chance.»
Oh, there’s good news for all of us today that He gives second chances.
Jonah’s Rebellion
And He didn’t just do it for Moses. He didn’t just do it for Adam and Eve. He didn’t just do it for Ruth and Rahab and Noah and for all the other characters in the Scriptures. We could go on and on. For those of whom were given a second chance, He didn’t just do it for them, but He also does it for us, just like He did it for Jonah.
We haven’t even gotten out of the first line of chapter 3, verse 1. And there’s enough there to keep us here all day in celebration. Jonah, he needed a second chance because you know his story.
Running from God
God had given him a clear word in the very first verse, first two verses of chapter 1. At the very beginning of this little tiny book, the word of the Lord had come to him giving him clear instruction to go to Nineveh and deliver a message that was going to change the trajectory of an entire nation.
But Jonah, much like us, didn’t like God’s instructions. He didn’t have any proclivity or desire to go to the Ninevites. Nineveh was a city within the Assyrian Empire. They were stark violent enemies against the Israelites.
Boarding the Ship
Some scholars say that it is very possible that Jonah would have seen some of his family members and friends killed right in front of his eyes by the Ninevites. So it is understandable that when God says go there and be a proclaimer of My grace and My mercy to that group of people — those folks that have done you wrong, those folks that have betrayed you, those folks that have stolen from you and taken from you — it is very understandable that we can see it would be difficult for us to easily follow those instructions.
So, instead of going with where Yahweh is instructing him, he blatantly rebels, turning his back on God and going to the port of Joppa, where he boards a ship. And he sails off on a ship with some sailors who are headed for Tarsus.
The Storm and the Fish
But you know that it doesn’t matter how far you think you’ve gone, you cannot escape the eyesight of God, who sees and is omniscient and omnipresent. He knows where you are. He knows where you’ve tried to escape, where I’ve tried to escape.
He knows that even if our spouse does not, our best friend does not, the people sitting next to us today, they don’t know the ways that we have quietly rebelled against God and tried to go another way. You need to know that your God sees.
Caught in the Storm
He’s aware of the hard places in our hearts and in our minds that need to be softened by the Holy Spirit. And so the Lord stirs up a storm — a storm that neither Jonah nor any of the other soldiers can escape. It is so devastating. And they realize their lives are literally on the line.
And so Jonah volunteers in his despair. He knows that this storm is because of him. He volunteers to be thrown overboard. And the sailors — rather, the sailors try to figure out another way. But it comes down to it that they need to cast Jonah overboard because they’ve been caught up in the storm of his making.
The Fish Called Grace
I wonder if there are people around you who have been caught up in the storm of your making. It’s what you did. It’s what you said. It’s the rebellious path that you chose.
It’s the time that you’ve ignored what was the clear leading of God to restrain yourself before you said that or posted that or started that or invested in that or contributed to that or built that business or that ministry in that way or associated yourself with that person in that way. You knew upfront that you were choosing the wrong path.
But like Jonah, oftentimes we run from God, really thinking that He will not be aware of these choices that we have made. But then the storm gets kicked up, and the people that are attached to us are caught up in the storm that was stirred up because of the choices that we made.
The soldiers, these sailors, know exactly how you feel. And there is Jonah overboard, believing, I’m sure that his life at this point was going to come to an end. Really, at this point, it’s a suicide mission.
And yet, in chapter 1, verse 17, it says that the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah. This right here, if you’ve got ears to hear and eyes to see, you’ll see that this is when Jonah’s do-over really begins. This is when his second chance is actually starting to take shape.
Grace in the Belly
Now, it wouldn’t have felt like that in the moment to Jonah. This is devastating; he’s been swallowed by a great fish. There he sits for three days and three long nights, worried and wondering what his fate is going to be, assuming that death is the only outcome that can come from this scenario.
But if this fish had a name, the fish’s name would be grace. Because it is God’s grace that appointed this fish to save Jonah from the tumultuous depths of the waters that he was in and to carry him for three days and three nights so that he could be deposited — the fish could emit and vomit him back onto the shores so that the word of the Lord could have an opportunity to come to him a second time.
Praying for My Sons
Sometimes when you are caught, captured, swallowed whole by some consequence that has come as a result of your actions or mine, there are many times I’m sitting in that consequence or I’ve been captured; I’ve been caught, and I don’t recognize it at the time, but in hindsight, I look back and can say, «Thank you, Lord, for the fish called grace that stopped me in my tracks, giving me an opportunity to recalibrate my perspective, my mindset, my attitude, my words, my choices so that I could have an opportunity to get back on track with your purposes for my life.»
If there is still breath in your lungs, that means you still have opportunity for a second chance. Can I tell you that I have three sons? They are nearly grown men now. I have one that’ll be turning 20, another one that is about to hit his 18th birthday, and then my 13-year-old.
I pray many things for my boys specifically. But one prayer that I am very diligent to pray for my sons is, «Lord, expose anything that is going on in their life through the discernment, the insight that Your Holy Spirit would give me as their mother and Jerry as their father. Would You expose anything that needs to be exposed in them so that I can begin to help them to get that part of their life, their journey with You back on track before maybe they’ve gone too far or have walked down a path so deeply that it gets harder and harder to bring their mind back or their heart back or to salvage maybe them from some of the consequences that they would have to experience if they kept going that way.»
Send a Fish Called Grace
Basically, I’m praying, «Lord, would You send a fish called grace? Let them be caught, captured, swallowed whole, so that there’s an opportunity to preserve them so that the word of the Lord can come to them a second time.»
So if you find yourself feeling like you’re sitting in the belly of a fish right now, it feels hard and hot and sticky and sweaty, and you are not in the place that you would prefer to be. Would you know that that place of grace is the opportunity that God has given you to have a pause, to have a moment to hear Him whisper, «Come to Me, all ye that are heavy laden and burdened down, and I will give you rest.»
A Window of Opportunity
This first line of chapter 3, verse 1 that we’ve been sitting on for quite a few minutes now, it is not only pause for celebration. It is a pause to give you an opportunity, and me an opportunity to choose because chapter 3 and 4 of our story, Jonah, can be different than chapter 1 and chapter 2.
There is a second half to this. There is an opportunity that we have right now to choose to lean into that little conviction that’s burning in your heart that you may be feeling that I’m feeling right now, that encouragement that God is giving to us by His Spirit to call us back to Himself and to give us an opportunity to get on board with His instructions.
Arise and Go
He gives Jonah a second opportunity to choose. And whether this is your third or fourth or tenth or fiftieth opportunity, the only reason why the Lord would allow me and you to intersect this way on this day in our lives over this passage is if He wanted to offer us an invitation, a window of opportunity to respond to Him in obedience.
Again, the word of the Lord comes to Jonah a second time and says in verse 2, chapter 3, «Arise, go to Nineveh.» Now, what’s interesting about this is several layers of detail. One is that if you look at verse two of chapter 1, you will see it starts the same way. «Arise, go to Nineveh.»
The Lord’s instruction did not change. In fact, scholars say that the port of Joppa is where Jonah first got on the boat with the sailors. And that when the big fish vomited him up onto dry land, it was back at the port at Joppa.
God’s Unchanging Word
He’s in the exact same place, receiving the exact same instructions that God gave him to begin with. Do you know that God does not change? In Him, there is no shifting shadow. He doesn’t accommodate our frailties; He has grace for them and mercy toward them, but His word remains the same.
And so if you’re wondering what is the way that you get back on track, what is the way that you begin to fold yourself, your will, your ambitions, your whole life back into alignment with who God has called you to be? I want you to think back to the last thing you know for sure God said and do that.
Obey the Old Word
God’s will for your life looks like doing in complete obedience what it is that you already know He’s asked you to do. Most of the time, He’s not coming to give us a brand new word; He’s just looking at us and saying, «If I can just get you to do the old word that you already know, the things that are already written, the things that by My Spirit I’ve already highlighted to you, the things that I’ve aligned in your path, the things that you know that I have placed for you to be obedient to and to give yourself to, do that, and you will be walking back in God’s will for your life.»
So He says to Jonah, «Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and proclaim to it the proclamation that I’m going to tell you.»
Assurance in the Assignment
Look closely, and you’ll see that in between the lines of God’s statement, there is an assurance. He has given the prophet an assignment, a do-over, an assignment. But now He gives him an assurance.
Yes, of course it’s a directive; it’s instruction. Go and tell Nineveh. But He gives him a promise tucked within His instructions. He says to him, «I want you to proclaim to them that which I am going to tell you.»
That means that embedded within the instruction is an assurance, a promise that God will be going with him into Nineveh. He doesn’t say that I’m going to give you all the information that you need upfront for the assignment. He says, «No, if you will obey Me in this second chance opportunity, then I promise you I’m not going to send you alone, because I know, Jonah, that you feel weak and frail and you feel bitter and resentful about this assignment that I’ve given you and the people that I have assigned to you.
His Presence Goes With Us
I understand that left to your own devices, Priscilla, you will not be able to do what it is that I’ve asked you to do. So, I’m embedding in the assignment this assurance that I will tell you as you go. I will never leave you nor forsake you. You will hear a voice, Isaiah 30:21, behind you saying, ‘This is the way. Walk in it.’ My presence will go with you.»
In Exodus 33, the children of Israel are going into the promised land, and they have done so much grumbling and complaining that the angel of the Lord says to Moses, «You know what? Y’all go ahead. I’m not coming with you. I’ll let you have the promised land, all the milk and honey and the promises and all that. You can have all that, but I’m not going.»
Moses, Exodus 33:15, says, «Hold up, Yahweh, the one true and living God. If you are not going into the promised land, then I’m not going into the promised land. We, your people, don’t want the promises without Your presence. We don’t want Your purposes without Your presence.»
Moses says, «Because what will give us favor — if not if we’re not marked by Your presence?» He says, «What will distinguish us from everybody else that we’re around, from every other nation and every other group of people? What will make us separate if it is not Your presence?»
And God has promised you and me His presence.
Marked by His Presence
Through every season of life, through every difficulty that we face, through every portion through which we sojourn, God says, «I will go with you.» And it is His presence that will empower you, that will mark you, that will give you favor and blessing every single day of your life.
One of my favorite things to do is to go to Super Target. I love Super Target. I believe that that store is straight from the throne room of God. I enjoy it so much.
And most Super Targets have in front of them here where I live a Starbucks. So, I will stand in line at Starbucks first. I’ll get my favorite hot drink. And then, you know, I told my husband I needed to go to Starbucks to get some milk and eggs and things we need. But what I really mean is that I’m going to buy those couple little groceries, and then I’m going to meander aimlessly around the women’s shoe and clothing section for the next two hours and enjoy my hot beverage.
No Hot Drinks at Starbucks
Well, one time I was doing this, excited about my little habit of going to Super Target and just enjoying a little me time, and I went to Starbucks excited about my drink, and I ordered the drink that I’d like. Well, the barista looked back at me and said, «I’m so sorry, ma’am, but today we don’t have any hot drinks.»
I said, «Excuse me? Are you serious? This is a Starbucks. What is a Starbucks without hot drinks?» And she said, «I’m so sorry. One of our machines is down, so we have no hot drinks to serve today.»
I thought it was pretty comical to be at Starbucks and there be no hot drinks. So, I sent out a little tweet that said, «I am at Starbucks right now, and there are no hot drinks.»
Immediately, people started to respond to me. Someone said, «I just drove through Kentucky Fried Chicken, and they have no chicken.» Someone else sent a tweet that said, «I just drove through Dunkin Donuts, and there were no donuts.»
Somebody said, «I just pulled into a gas station, and they were completely out of gas.» Somebody else said that they went to a Mexican food restaurant called El Pollo Loco, and they were completely out of pollo.
We Need His Presence
And as comical as it sounds to us that there would be a Starbucks with no hot drinks or a chicken restaurant with no chicken or a Dunkin Donuts with no donuts or a gas station with no gas, that is how ridiculous it should seem to us that there would be a person of God who names the name of Jesus Christ but who is not marked by the presence of God in their coming and going.
Especially when God has assigned us to Nineveh when the task is hard that is in front of us. When we’re going to need more than New Year’s resolutions and we’re going to need more than willpower. We’re going to actually need something supernatural to carry out this task.
God says, «I want to assure you that My presence in the person of the Holy Spirit will go with you, empowering you with My fruit and with My gifts to be effective for My glory.»
Jonah Obeys
So, God says to Jonah, «Go, » in verse 2. And in verse 3, instead of running this time, Jonah uses this window of opportunity to change the course of his life. He immediately arises and goes to give the shortest message ever preached in all of human history.
In the original language, in the Hebrew, it’s only five words. I think it comes out to be about eight in our English Bibles. But this little tiny message carries with it the power and the potency of the presence of God who has come with him.
A Living Testimony
And here’s what I need you to know: Jonah has just gotten out of the belly of a fish. He’s been there for about 72 long hours. In 1926, there was a man who was swallowed by a big fish, most likely a shark, and his body was recovered after 48 hours, less than the time that Jonah spent there.
And just in those 48 hours, because of the gastric fluids and the rotting foods that were already in the stomach of that fish, this man’s body was completely devoid of all hair from the toxic fluid. He had patches of yellow and brown all over his skin. The stench couldn’t be denied.
So, I want you to think about Jonah after 72 hours of that. Walking into Nineveh, he probably stank. He had hair loss. He was discolored. He was a mess.
The Mess Makes the Message
And yet, I believe the mess that he had come from is what actually made his message that poignant. I don’t think it was just what he said; I think it was what he looked like when he said it.
It was the testimony that he had, the second chance that he was clearly standing in. He was a living, visible illustration of the grace and the goodness and the mercy of God.
Our Second Chance Links to Others
And he stands in this window of opportunity, not having cleaned himself up, but with the residue of his own testimony still on him. And he goes to Nineveh, and he says to them, «Yet 40 days, and you’ll be overthrown.»
And in that message, his window of opportunity links hands with their window of opportunity. His second chance links hands with their chance. He says there’s a 40-day window here.
I’m currently standing, Ninevites. I’m currently standing a testimony to you that we have a God who is merciful and gracious. I’m a testament. I’m a living witness of God’s grace and God’s mercy, and He has sent me now to extend that same mercy to you.
Mess into Message
Yahweh could have destroyed Nineveh on the spot. But it was His mercy that sent Jonah. It was His grace that sent this man to proclaim to them that they have a window of opportunity — 40 days to tear down their idols, 40 days to repent and turn to the one true and living God.
And in fact, they would take advantage of this window of opportunity, of this grace and of this mercy. They would take advantage of the opportunity, and this entire city, the trajectory of an entire group of people would be transformed because one man who had been touched by grace linked hands with someone who needed grace.
I want you to know that the second chance that God is giving us today, it’s because there’s somebody else whose second chance is linked to ours. There is a window of opportunity for our children, for our grandchildren, for our parents, for a friend, for a group of people in that organization in which we serve or that ministry that we partner with.
Their window of opportunity is dependent upon us walking fully in ours, coming with all the residue of everything that we’ve been through and trusting God to turn that mess into a message.
Leftovers in Master’s Hands
So no matter where you’ve been and what you’ve done, no matter how many times you’ve had to walk through what God has allowed you to experience in His love and His grace as a Father, to discipline us lovingly but calculatedly, and allowing some of the residue of that discipline to still be a part of our story.
When we continue to walk forward in the purposes and the power of God, trusting the Holy Spirit to lead us, to guide us, and to go with us, then He will take even our biggest messes, and He will make out of them a message and a testimony that will not only transform us, but it will change and transform the people who are connected to us.
In closing, I will tell you my mother, my late mother, was a master at cooking. She was a great cook, especially with leftovers. She had a way with leftovers, let me tell you.
She would cook these big, huge Sunday dinners. I remember them growing up. She’d start on Saturday night, and the roast would be cooking slowly all night long, so the smells hitting us all throughout the night.
We’d get up in the morning, and, you know, the yeast rolls would have been rising, and she might have the beginnings of the macaroni and cheese spread out that she was going to be making later that day. I mean, we woke up ready to eat dinner because we’d just been smelling it and seeing all the ingredients that were going to be going into it.
So, she’d make this huge feast. We’d all sit around, and probably friends came over after church as well very frequently, and we would eat this meal together, and then she would take all the leftovers and put them in the refrigerator.
Turning Leftovers Beautiful
Well, she worked so hard on Sunday. Now I know as a grown woman with my own family why she didn’t really start from scratch cooking anything on Monday and Tuesday. She was too tired for that.
But what she would do was take out the leftovers, the stuff that seemed like it was just kind of, you know, not able to be used for much of anything. And she would take all the leftovers out, and she’d spread them out, and she’d start chopping and dicing and reconfiguring.
Very frequently, she would put several things together into a casserole dish. She would pour some cream of mushroom soup over it, stir it all together. She’d sprinkle some cheese on top because, you know, cheese makes everything better.
And then she would put it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes. And then she would pull out this bubbling hot beautiful casserole. She would give it some French sounding name and make us think that we were eating the most delectable thing that she had come up with from scratch.
But it wasn’t from scratch; it was just leftovers in the hands of a master. Whatever parts of your life and mine, whatever parts of our story we feel like Jonah represents, chapter 1 and chapter 2, they’re just leftovers, and you’re wondering whether God can take all that stuff and make anything useful out of it in the chapter 3 and chapter 4 of your life.