Getting Ready by Listening to Warnings

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 3:1–12

“Tell the righteous it will be well with them… 

Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them.” 

 Isaiah 3:10–11

Advent carries us through a beautiful spiritual movement — remembering, watching, praising, repenting— and today, listening. In Isaiah 3, God speaks not with empty threats but with loving urgency. He uncovers the consequences of unfaithfulness so that His people might return to Him. As Scripture says, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline” (Revelation 3:19). Isaiah’s warnings are ultimately mercies. God reveals what destroys so He can restore what is broken. He exposes false securities, failed leadership, and social decay not to condemn but to awaken.

Isaiah’s picture is sobering: stability collapses, leadership falters, and communities turn against one another. This unraveling reflects what happens when people forget the Lord. Yet even here, grace shines through the cracks. God is not pushing His people away; He is calling them home. His correction is not the end—it is the beginning of restoration. Every warning is a reminder that our choices shape our lives, our homes, and even our society. Like the psalmist, we pray, “Search me, O God… lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23–24). God confronts what destroys us because He desires to heal us.

In Advent terms, getting ready means listening when God shows us what harms our hearts, our homes, our churches, and our world. He uncovers the pride and hidden sin that weaken our hearts, the harsh words and unresolved conflicts that strain our homes, the confusion and disunity that weaken our churches, and the injustice and moral drift that darken our world. These revelations are not meant to crush us but to awaken us. God confronts these harms because He desires to heal them. His discipline prepares room for Christ’s forgiveness, His truth restores clarity, and His mercy opens the way for hope. When we receive His warnings as grace, our hearts become ready for the joy He longs to give.

Prayer

Lord,

Thank You that Your warnings are mercies wrapped in truth. Help us listen with humility, recognize what harms us, and return to the path that leads to life. Awaken our hearts, our homes, our churches, and our world to Your restoring love. Prepare us for Christ with clarity, courage, and hope.

Amen.