Reflecting on Jonah's Journey and Second Chances (Part 3)

The belly of the whale, puts his feet back on dry ground and calls him once again. He gives him a second chance. That's where I would share the overall truth of the lesson. Disobedience brings consequences. But when we turn back to God, he gives us another chance. Then, to help your students connect Jonah's story to themselves, you could say, now, I imagine that most of us are grateful for second chances, but sometimes we have a hard time believing that God would offer one to us. We think, I knew better, or I already promised that I would change, or even I've tried before. What's the point of trying again? And that's where I think Jonah's story can help us. The Lord knew Jonah had run. He knew exactly what had happened, and he called him again. God continued to work with him. And I think that that's something we need to remember when we are disappointed in ourselves. We can turn toward the Lord while we're still struggling. We can pray before we've worked everything out. Jonah didn't have to get himself back onto dry ground before he could ask for help. Now, repentance doesn't mean that every consequence immediately disappears. There may be things that we need to repair, habits we need help changing, or trust that takes time to rebuild. But we can begin that process with the Lord's help. Through Jesus Christ, we can receive forgiveness and move forward. We don't have to keep running because we ran before. So for a take it to heart. Here's the personal question that I would give my students. Is there something that you've been running from that you need to turn toward? Maybe a commandment you struggle to live? A prompting you've put off? An apology you need to make or help that you know you need to ask for? Perhaps you've already tried to change. Perhaps this feels like more than your second chance. Well, bring that to the Lord too. Tell him where you're struggling and ask him to help you take the next step. And then the second part of the exercise. What is a step that you could take this week in that direction? And hopefully they'll leave with more than a feeling of relief that God gives second chances. And they'll leave with a decision about what they're going to do with the opportunity that he's giving them. To conclude, show the takeaway slide with the the footprints leading from the water line onto the quiet shore. With the caption, you can begin again. And you could say something like this. Imagine how good that dry ground must have felt to Jonah after the storm, the sea and the bell.