A Second Chance and a Day's Journey

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My pastor has been walking us through the book of Jonah over the past several weeks and we made it through the third chapter this past Sunday. It’s a pretty unique start of a chapter as it’s almost like deja vu from the first chapter. Let’s take a look and then I’ll tell you how this applies to our therapy/rehab workspaces.

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“Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.’ So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. Jonah began to into the city going a day’s journey. And he called out, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.’ And the people of Nineveh believed God.” Jonah 3:1-5

Certainly an interesting passage and you might be wondering how this applies to you rehab job life. Well, here are two big takeaways for me from that sermon and I hope they will be as impactful for you in your life as they have been for me.

Our God is a God of Second Chances. This fact is just super encouraging. Jonah totally bombed his first assignment and fled and disobeyed God. But God brought him back and the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. The same word as the first time! God gave Jonah another opportunity.
 
I don't know about you but there are times when I miss opportunities to share the love of Christ or to serve a colleague who may need encouragement or to pray for a patient. Sometimes the logistics of the day or the busyness of the caseload create interference and I may willfully or unwillfully miss something that God has called me too. I'm sure you have felt that too. But our God is a patient and persistent God. He does not give up on us. In fact, God's word says that He will be faithful to complete that good work in you which he started. (Phil. 1:6) So, realize that today, he has given you a second chance to do what he has called you to do in your life, family, and in your workplace. 

Maybe that means you need to specifically pray for a patient. Maybe that means you need to invite a colleague to your church or small group. Or maybe that means that you need to share the good news of the Gospel with a patient or patient's family member that God has specifically placed on your heart. Don't be discouraged! As long as the sun comes up, you have another opportunity because our God is a God of second chances so, let's make the most of that truth.

Jonah Took a Day's Journey into the City Proclaiming the Word of the Lord. The other striking thing about this chapter that came out of our small group discussion was that Jonah walked through the city for a whole day's journey. The city was so large that it took multiple days to cross but he began work his way through the city delivering the message that God wanted the people to hear. During that entire day’s journey, he likely visited markets, wandered through public places, and went into shops or inns to proclaim the message God gave him. Well, we too, walk through our own cities on a daily basis. It could be the actual city that you live in as you serve your city and neighbors and visit restaurants and shops.
 
But we also talked about scaling that down so as not to be too overwhelmed and ineffective. After all, many of the cities we live in are massive! But we can think of our workplaces as "cities." As you walk through the halls of your hospital, or the gym and office spaces of your outpatient clinic, or the lobby of your rehab center, or someone's neighborhood as you arrive for a home health visit, you can proclaim God's message of salvation and of your changed life to those around you. You can do this in your attitudes, actions, and words. We have incredible freedom and opportunity to be a light in our sphere of influence and our rehab work spaces. Let's commit to take advantage of that but also rest in the encouraging reality that should we fail, God gives second chances.

Jason

**Check out my book "Rehab the World" written for Physical Therapists and other rehab professionals to encourage us in our workplace and prepare us to serve those around us. If you like, please leave a review and spread the word!!**