Another Chance

Another Chance

Samantha Evilsizer

“I’ll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon the cross.”

These lyrics caught in my throat the first time I sang them several years ago. I cried the ugly cry as I stared at my circumstances, ashamed. I’d made significant compromises in some areas of my life. Until the warm truth of that song caught me off guard, I had turned a cold shoulder to forgiveness. Shame had convinced me I wasn’t worthy of another chance.

Last summer, I met a young woman who needed a second or third chance. On a 75-degree, gorgeous-in-every-way Los Angeles day, I served meals on Skid Row. There I was, navigating my way around hypodermic needles and people in pain. There she was, fidgeting outside the women’s shelter.

Her demeanor matched the tattered gray condition of her sweatpants. Washed out and muted; buried under the debris of a dark world; away from the light for far too long. Inching toward me, she stepped over others hibernating beneath cardboard and despair.

Try as I might, I couldn’t catch her eye as she asked for help. Shame from past deeds had beaten her down. It made her doubt she was worthy of anything, much less another chance for a hot meal and cold drink. This sweet woman had been pushed out of the food line. Unable to defend herself and in too much physical pain to stand in line again, she needed someone to make a way.

Together, we walked to the front of the food truck (not gonna lie, it was fun breezing past her bullies). But I felt ridiculous handing her scrambled eggs and water. Surely, she needed so much more.

We all do at some point, don’t we?

She needed to know this place didn’t have to be her last stop. That what she’d done could be forgiven—forgotten, even. That this dark season could turn into a season of light. I wanted to share this truth: “See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone” (Song of Songs 2:11).

Winter, that gloomy season, that should pass. But what if it lingers? What if one bad-for-us choice turns into a hundred that beat us to our own Skid Row? What if mistakes convince us we don’t deserve another shot?

Been there? Me too. But letting in the light of Christ melts our winter of doubt into a spring of hope. What we’ve done doesn’t dictate who we are. The truth is, what He’s done makes us who we are: forgiven, hopeful, and worthy of another chance. We may not feel we deserve a second shot. But Christ’s sacrifice and our salvation through Him gives us one.

Never doubt; He’ll always lead us past the bully of shame to the front of the line for so much more than eggs and water.

Dear Lord, it’s hard to believe I’m worthy of another chance. But I’m choosing to accept that Your death means new life for me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

REMEMBER

What we’ve done doesn’t dictate who we are. The truth is, what He’s done makes us who we are: forgiven, hopeful, and worthy of another chance.

REFLECT

Why is it sometimes difficult for you to believe you’re worthy of another chance?

RESPOND

Write down every reason you feel you’re not worthy of Christ’s love and forgiveness. Now, read them out loud and say after them, “But Christ died on the cross to forgive me once and for all for that. I’ve repented and I’m forgiven.”

POWER VERSES

Isaiah 12:1–2; John 3:17–18