Articles
The God of Do-Overs
The Bible is filled with examples of second chances, and third … and fourth … and … Our heavenly Father desperately wants us to succeed, even if it takes many failures to do so. He is a God of patience and mercy and forgiveness. He grants repeated opportunity to learn, grow and improve. Here are some classic do-overs from Scripture:
Cain. After his sacrifices were rejected by God, “Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell” (Gn 4:5). Resentment toward his brother Abel, whose sacrifices were accepted, grew and Cain entered dangerous frame of mind. With both of these strikes against him, God graciously intercedes with both encouragement and a warning: “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its de-sire is for you, but you should rule over it” (4:7). As we know, Cain squandered his second chance and, after murdering Abel, gave himself wholly to the pursuit of evil (cf. 1 Jn 3:11-12; Jude 11). God, indeed, warns us away from evil. FAIL.
Moses. After his first 40 years as an Egyptian prince, Moses decided to “come out” and identify with his Israelite brethren. It is a classic “riches to rags” story which Hollywood has worn threadbare for one main reason: it resonates with the human spirit. We love the nobility of the principled conscience that is willing to forego a life of privilege and luxury to side with the downtrodden (cf. Heb 11:24-27). Moses’ big mistake was in his assumptions about his own ability rather than a humble, submissive attitude toward God. This resulted in a 40-year tutorial in the land of Midian which then prepared Moses for the strenuous task ahead of him. God, indeed, is patient. PASS.
Joshua. The defeat of Israel by the Aites in the second battle of Canaan sent Joshua into an emotionally tailspin: “Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until evening …” (Jsh 7:6). Not yet knowing the cause of the defeat Joshua lamented, “Alas, Lord God, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all – to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan!” (7:7). God was angered by this whining display and rebuked Joshua sharply: “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? … Get up, sanctify the people and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing …”’” (7:10, 13).
Joshua had been trained for leadership for 40 years as Moses’ trusted assistant. He was on Mt. Sinai with Moses and fought battles for Israel before entering the promised land. But in this moment of crisis he is overly distraught and confused. Following God’s rebuke, however, he successfully leads the campaign to secure the land and defeat the indigenous Canaanites. God, indeed, gives guidance and correction. PASS.
King Saul. Upon their first meeting Samuel said something quite startling to the young “nobody” Saul: “And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father’s house?” (1 Sam 9:20). Shocked, the humble lad responds: “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?” (9:21). His outlook is undoubtedly shaped by the near destruction of his tribe for their gross immorality (yet another example of a do-over – cf. Jud 19-21). This humility is again on display as Saul hides from those trying to recognize him publicly as Israel’s first king (1 Sam 10:20-24).
Sadly, the corruption of Saul happens fairly quickly as the rigors of rule and battle overwhelm him. His inspiring victory at Jabesh Gilead (1 Sam 11) gives way to his unlawful and impatient sacrifice (1 Sam 13). The judgment against him is indeed harsh: “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which he commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you” (1 Sam 13:13-14). Of course, this declaration does not bar Saul from fellowship with God if he would but repent. But what little faith Saul may have had in God evaporated at this rebuke, and he followed up this failure with the sparing of the Amalekite king, Agag, and the best of the spoils of war (1 Sam 15). All future appeals to Saul through Samuel, Jonathan and even David failed. God, indeed, gives many chances to turn our lives around. FAIL.
On and on we could go with such examples: Pharaoh: FAIL. David: PASS. Ahab: FAIL. Manasseh: PASS. Saul of Tarsus: PASS. Peter: PASS. But the more immediate issue is: What are you and I doing now with the multiple chances we are given by the Lord to grow and improve?
Here we stand at the threshold of another year. No doubt we can all look back over 2023 and recognize various instances in which we fell short, missed opportunities or even were guilty of outright sin. If we are unclear about God’s genuine desire for our salvation, it would be easy to collapse under the weight of guilt. Satan follows up his dastardly enticements to sin with the whisperings of shame and remorse: “You aren’t worthy of any of God’s blessings after what you’ve done, you miserable failure.”
But nowhere is the God of do-overs more evident than in the life of Peter when the Lord encouraged him both before and after his awful denial:
Before: “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren” (Lk 22:32).
After: “Feed My lambs … tend My sheep … feed My sheep” (Jn 21:15-17). In other words, Peter had important work that the Lord still wanted him to do, and Jesus voiced Peter’s value to Him and the kingdom.
Then Jesus added, “‘When you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.’ This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God” (21:18-19). Peter would be challenged with temptation again in the future, and so will we. But Peter’s failures changed him for the better. Let us not squander the chances for growth and service that God will place before us as 2024 dawns. At a time unknown to us, those chances will run out.
