A couple of years ago, when I was in my sophomore year of college, I had to take a midterm exam for one of my classes. I remember that this was one of the exams I was the most worried about. The class was difficult, and I had a difficult time learning the material. I spent weeks studying. When the day of the exam came, I made it late to the exam. I wasn’t able to find parking, I missed the bus that took me from my car to the exam location, and on top of that, I had a Sinus Infection. Everything was going wrong! I still took the exam. Two days later I go the results. As expected, I did very poorly. I got a 62%.

That evening I spoke to my Professor and asked if there was anything I can do to bring that grade up. I told him I had studied very hard, but on the day of the exam, things weren’t going so well for me. Now, at this point, most professors say: “I’m sorry, better luck next time”. To my surprise, my professor said: “I understand. Come in tomorrow and retake the exam. It will be different questions, but you can take the exam in my office”. I could not believe what I was hearing. What he giving me a second chance? Yes he was! I had still not recovered from my sinus infection, and I would still have to find somewhere to park, but from my experience three days ago, now I had a better idea of how to overcome these obstacles. I retook the exam and got a 91%. I was very thankful for the second chance!

This past year probably didn’t go as expected for many people. A lot of people had dreams and goals to accomplish in 2016, but due to certain circumstances, they weren’t able to Reach them. Maybe you feel you messed up and because of that you weren’t able to grow in your career, relationships, ministry etc. The thought of this may be a little discouraging, but do you want to know what is encouraging? We serve a God of second chances!

Life is always going to have its ups and downs. There will always be circumstances outside of our control, but we have a God who loves us enough that gives us another opportunity to reach our goals. Even better, He tells us: “Fear not, for I am with you”. You have made it to 2017. God has given you this opportunity to reach the goals you may not have reached previously. He has given you a second chance to be the best you can be in this new year, and you don’t have to do it alone, He will walk with you every step of the way.

This morning I woke up and told God: “Thank you for this second chance. I want to reach my highest potential in 2017. Will you guide me in order to reach it?” Now can you pray that same prayer right now?…

Happy New Year!

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