She was a woman who lost all hope.  Unloved, shunned, used, and abused, this woman believed she was unworthy – devalued because she was marked as immoral. She was deemed an outcast of society, and she bore the pain of her shame away from people – to avoid their whispers of condemnation. “Who is this woman?” you ask.  Well, her story is found in the gospel of John chapter four and the only name given to her is the Woman at the well.  Ironically, her nameless title is a fitting description of her unseen soul.  The deep hole of her heart was barren and dried out by the choices she made and her desperate need was a permanent filling of fresh living water found only in Jesus Christ.

Yes, Jesus, the compassionate one, the all-powerful one, the one who specializes in complete forgiveness.  Jesus is able to see her heart, shame, and pain, but because of love, refused to condemn.  He was willing to come to this woman’s rescue in the heat of the day and offer her a second chance – a different life than what she knew.  He invited her to drink abundantly from God’s living water of salvation – the blessings of a new beginning.  You see, only in Jesus do we have a chance to a new beginning, a different life than what we knew before.  Listen to God’s word in 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

This scripture reminds us that Jesus is our only hope of newness.  The second chance Jesus offers, through salvation, originates from Him, is initiated by Him and it always leads to a new beginning when we say yes to Him.  And the result is powerful!  Our old life … our old sinful position will be untraceable.

This is what happened to the woman at the well.  She was graced with a new beginning and a second chance for eternity, because she chose to believe in Jesus.  Are you reaping the guilt and shame of poor choices?  Have you lost all hope that a new beginning is within your reach?  Know that Jesus’ love declares us worthy for a second chance to a new beginning.  Will you say yes to Him today?

For some, the New Year brings new hope, new dreams, and new goals.  But many are hoping this New Year will bring a second chance.  At some point everyone desires a second chance…a chance to “do-over” and “make right”.  In the Old Testament, Moses knew what it felt to long for a second chance.  He had murdered an Egyptian soldier for beating a Hebrew – one of his own people.  But his fellow brethren rejected his heroic efforts and Moses life was in danger.  So, he fled far away with no intentions of ever returning back to Egypt.  But God had another plan for Moses life.   After many years in seclusion, God sought Moses and initiated a “second chance.”  He invited Moses to participate in His great work of freeing the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. Moses should have immediately responded, “yes God!  I’ll go.” But, sadly, his defeated response was, “Who I am, that I should go?”  (Exodus 2:11-3:11).

We too can have the same shortsighted vision like Moses.  God graciously extends a Second chance to us when He offers forgiveness for our wrong doings, speaks encouraging promises to us through His word, or gives us an opportunity to serve Him and His people.  But often times, we allow the regrets of the past to outweigh the future God has planned for us.  Listen to God’s word in Philippians 1:6 (ESV).

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

This scripture reveals that God initiates the great work of salvation in us through Jesus Christ and He will work hard to complete our unique calling until His son comes back again.  However, our past failures will lead us to believe that our second chance is gone.  Like Moses, we may say, “Who am I that I should go, or be forgiven, or be used for kingdom work?”  But we must remember that the secret ingredient to sustain us for kingdom work is found only in the Great I Am.

God gave Moses a powerful promise and it is the same promise that is available to us as well, “I will be with you” (Ex.3:12).  As we focus on this New Year, let’s never forget that God is faithful and graciously extends a second chance to join Him.