Many opportunities are indeed once in a lifetime. And there are no second chances once this door is closed. But this shouldn’t cause us to become shortsighted and forget God provides us with new mercies every morning.
To be sure, the sun still rises every morning despite how much we might have blown it the day before. And this is a picture of God’s faithfulness toward us. He remains faithful even when we don’t.
And this is true throughout our life and relationships.
For instance, perhaps we used our strength selfishly – pushing our agenda without care or concern for others. And changing our ways doesn’t erase the damage we’ve caused. At the same time, our past sins don’t make us impotent going forward. God’s mercies allow us to find new ways to offer our life and strength even after we’ve burned bridges in the past.
Or maybe we took our friends and community for granted – not realizing how good we had it until they were gone. Certainly, we might have to grieve those particular relationships we didn’t handle well. But this doesn’t mean we’re resigned to a life of loneliness. God’s mercies allow us to find a new village and the deep connections our souls crave.
Likewise, our past sexual sins don’t disqualify us from a satisfying sex life today. Of course, we might have to work through the brokenness and pursue deep healing, but God gives us another chance to explore the full measure of erotic joys he intended for us.
We rob ourselves of God’s goodness when we condemn ourselves and feel like we don’t deserve another chance. And, in many respects, this is thinking too highly of ourselves, because God’s mercies are simply consistent with his character and they’re not the result of us deserving it per se.
In the end, make the most of each day and the opportunities given to you. But learn also to humbly accept and boldly live in the grace of God’s new mercies. Freely enjoy his sunshine today even if you didn’t yesterday.
Photo by Simon Wilkes on Unsplash
