Rerouted: 30 Days Through the Book of JonahSample

A Second-Chance Kind of God

Becky Beresford

Jonah 3:1-3

Fifteen years ago, I went skiing for the first time. It was exhilarating yet terrifying. My husband, an experienced skier, gave me one simple instruction: “Go left, and you’ll be fine.” I nodded and hesitantly pushed off. But as my speed increased, panic set in. I flew past him, shouting his name as I veered right … into the forest.

Thankfully, God guided me to safety, and we laugh about it now. Yet going in the wrong direction was dangerous for me and others.

Have you ever strayed down a path God wasn’t leading you to take? Today’s passage offers wisdom for getting back on track.

After Jonah was vomited out by the fish in Jonah 2:10, he grasped the Lord’s grace personally. God could have let Jonah perish for refusing to deliver His message to Nineveh (Jonah 1:3), but instead He gave Jonah a second chance, showing His desire for all people, Jewish or gentile, to be reconciled to Him. The real question was: When "the word of the Lᴏʀᴅ came to Jonah the second time" (Jonah 3:1), would Jonah obey?

According to the Bible, repentance is a complete turn away from sin and toward God. Before Jonah could deliver a message that would stir repentance in Nineveh, he needed to repent himself. God’s mercy to Jonah demonstrated that “God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance” (Romans 2:4). And true repentance always results in obedient action. So “Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lᴏʀᴅ” (Jonah 3:3). He didn’t just hear God’s command — he acted on it.

God’s compassion toward Jonah was meant to help him show compassion to the Ninevites. Jesus also teaches us that loving Him means obeying Him (John 14:15), which involves loving our enemies and not just our neighbors (Matthew 5:43-44; Matthew 22:39). As the Apostle Paul wrote, “In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19).

A lifestyle of continual repentance keeps our hearts tender toward God and reminds us of His mercy. He grants second chances and offers fresh starts whenever we choose to return to Him.