Do you prefer to have a warning something is going to happen? Do you like to know ahead of time when you are scheduled to leave on a trip? Are you someone who plans and prepares for events well in advance? Do you listen when given a heads up?
I venture to guess most of us prefer to know in advance of events that require us to be present or to do something for them, even if it merely requires our attendance. After all, it is taking our time. We may need to dress special for the event. We may need to prepare food for it.
Our culture runs on schedules. Our businesses set schedules for deliveries and workers. We make appointments for vehicle maintenance. Our schools operate on schedules. We schedule family get togethers. Woe to the person who disrupts the schedule.
God also set a schedule. He planned out the time of Jesus’ birth. Not only did He plan the birth, but He also planned a messenger to provide a warning ahead of Jesus’ ministry. God is a God of second chances. He provides warnings, forgiveness, and continuous love.
God foretold His Son coming to this world and He foretold of the messenger coming to provide the warning. Think about that for a minute. God gave a warning that there would be a warning. He gave a heads up that there would be a heads up. Yet, many people in Israel missed both.
Do we miss the warnings of God? Are our eyes and ears open to see and hear the warnings God is providing us? Speaking from my own personal experience, I’ve missed warnings. Now, that doesn’t mean there is always a warning, but I can certainly look back and see there was a warning being provided and I’m guessing you can, too.
May I suggest that we all slow down during this time of advent and look for warnings? Perhaps God has been preparing us for something new. Maybe this pandemic is a way of changing our direction. It could be that God raised our awareness about something we’ve been doing wrong. God might be warning us to change our attitudes, return to Him, and make Him a priority again.
I pray we all review our lives for warnings from God. I pray we pause to contemplate God working in our lives. I pray each one of us makes God a priority each day. Look for God’s warning signs. Think about God each day. Pray to God each day. Make God a priority. Trust God. Return to Him.
Malachi 4:5-6 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”
Marty Pressey 