second chances | Thoughts About God

You Are Not Too Late

Thoughts_About_God — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 07:03:00 +0000

“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?” Isaiah 43:19

One of the quietest lies we believe is this:

I should be further ahead by now.

We rarely say it out loud.

But we feel it when someone else announces the promotion. The engagement. The new home. The growing ministry. The answered prayer. The dream finally becoming real.

Then we look at our own life and wonder whether we missed our moment.

Comparison has a cruel way of turning someone else’s blessing into evidence against our own future.

But God has never been restricted by the timeline you created for yourself.

Abraham was old when Isaac was born.

Moses was eighty when God called him to stand before Pharaoh.

David was anointed long before he became king.

The disciples watched Jesus die and believed everything had ended. Three days later, God showed them that what looked like the ending was actually the beginning of something they could not yet comprehend.

God is not intimidated by a late start.

Maybe life took a turn you did not expect.

Maybe you lost years to survival.

Maybe your own choices created consequences you are still rebuilding from.

Maybe circumstances beyond your control delayed something you desperately wanted.

Maybe you are starting again while everyone else seems established.

Starting again is not always failure.

Sometimes starting again is grace.

Isaiah 43:19 says, “Behold, I will do a new thing.”

God does not say, “I will only work if your life followed the original plan.”

He says He can do something new.

New means the future does not have to look exactly like the past.

New means a closed chapter is not the whole book.

New means God can create a road where you currently see wilderness.

Stop measuring your life against people whose full story you do not know.

You may be comparing your beginning to someone else’s middle.

You may even be calling yourself late when God calls you prepared.

The better question is not, “Why am I not where they are?”

The better question is: “God, what are You asking me to do from where I am today?”

You do not need to recover every lost year before taking the next faithful step.

You only need to take the next step.

You are not too old. You are not too young. You have not made too many mistakes. You have not missed God’s ability to use your life.

If God is still writing your story, there are still pages ahead.

Pause and reflect: Where have you allowed comparison or regret to convince you that God’s best work in your life must already be behind you?

Prayer:

Lord, forgive me for measuring my life against other people and against timelines You never gave me. Help me release regret over what did not happen when I expected. Give me courage to follow You from where I am today. Open my eyes to the new thing You are doing and give me faith for the next step. Amen.

Today’s Thought: You are not behind when you are walking faithfully with God.

by Barry Saunders
used by permission

FURTHER READING

The Plans I Have for You

The post You Are Not Too Late appeared first on Thoughts About God.

The God of Second Chances

Thoughts_About_God — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 07:06:29 +0000

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong…so that no one may boast before him.” 1 Corinthians 27, 29

Have you ever felt inadequate for a special task? How did you deal with it?

At the burning bush Moses was told to take off his shoes. Then God spoke these comforting words to him: “I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them.”

This was good news indeed! At last God had heard Moses’ prayers.

And then God made a shocking announcement: “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:7,8)

Moses’ response was much like ours. “Who me? God, you have the wrong person,” he said. “Don’t you remember, I tried to save my people but it ended in disaster. I’ve been hiding in the desert for these forty years now. I’m an old man and don’t have the energy. Besides, I’m not a speaker. I could never convince Pharaoh to let the people go.”

Of course, God knew all that. He was well acquainted with Moses’ failure and inadequacy. But Moses did qualify on one count: God loves to use ordinary, weak, human beings to do His work.

Like us!

How did God do it? God did not transform Moses into suddenly feeling adequate and strong. God said, “I will be with you.” In other words, “I will do this in your shoes, Moses.” It would be God through Moses who would free his people.

That’s the way it’s going to be with us too.

Thank you, Father, that I can do everything through him (Christ) who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13)

by Helen Lescheid
used by permission

Second Chances

Thoughts_About_God — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 07:06:11 +0000

Dwight was elated when asked to work as a crisis counselor with U.S. troops in the Middle East.

But Dwight suffered a heart attack just prior to leaving.

He was devastated that he couldn’t serve.

Friends and family tried to encourage him.

But God’s word was Dwight’s greatest comfort through the process of recovery, both physically and emotionally.

He can say, like Jonah,

“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and He answered me.” (Jonah 2:2)

It wasn’t long before God gave Dwight a new opportunity to encourage and counsel others.

And, his heart attack has enabled him to communicate God’s truth more effectively.

Yes, friend, see each roadblock as a new opportunity to follow God’s path for your life.

By Vonette Bright
used by permission

FURTHER READING

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