This is your last chance

by: carole l haines

“That’s it! I’ve had it with you! This is your final warning, your last chance!”  Those stinging words can be spoken to us, or delivered with just a sideways glance.
Perhaps an attitude someone has towards you, or that ‘secret avoidance,’ refusing to make eye contact, or actually maneuvering themselves around in such a way, as to not have to walk by you.  You know the drill, they’ve given up on you.  You are too much work for them, too much of a hassle to fool with, too much trouble. People are like that, giving up on you, throwing you away. But our God is not like that.  His Word describes a much more benevolent Being.
⁶ Then the Lord passed by in front of Moses and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth (Exodus 34:6 NASB)
Or this most beloved passage of Scripture:
²¹ This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.
²² The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. ²³ They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
²⁴ “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I have hope in Him.”
²⁵ The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.
26 It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the Lord. (Lam/ 3:21-26 NASB) Now I don’t know about you, but I need that.  I mess up in some way every single day.  I need those compassions to be new every morning.  God is so amazingly good, beyond my ability to understand.  What a blessing to know God never gives up on us.  He doesn’t deliberately avoid us, or refuse to make eye contact.  He forgives us, gives us another chance for the 5th, 10th or 100th time.  Let’s Praise Him for His Amazing mercies And let’s try to show that kind of grace toward one another, to love each other as Jesus loved us. Let us not speak in our hearts, “This is your last chance, but forgive and restore; as God leads, as God does.