Today marks the first Sunday of Advent, the weeks prior to Christmas, a time when Christians prepare their hearts and lives to welcome the coming Savior, Jesus Christ. Our Old Testament reading from the first Sunday in Advent’s Lectionary reading comes from the Prophet Isaiah. Let’s see what he has to say to us.
There are three things in these verses that we can apply to our lives today. The first is found in verse 4 where Isaiah tells us how important it is to wait for the Lord. We can’t imagine how God will move on our behalf, but we can know He will when we wait for Him in faith. Waiting is never easy for most of us. It certainly isn’t easy for me. We are always in a hurry and impatient, but God is never in a hurry, and His timing is always right. Just as when we plant seeds in the ground and wait, and wait, and wait for the plant to come, so we often have to wait and wait for God’s plans in our life to come to fruition.
Why not put this waiting time to good use? While we wait, the Lord wants to teach us some of life’s greatest lessons, if we are willing to learn. Waiting helps us to learn His will, and draw into a deeper relationship with Him. God works all things together for our good, as promised in Romans 8:28, so we should relax and trust Him. God also promises to reward those who wait. Trust Him and be patient as He will produce good fruit in our life.
A second very important truth in this passage is found in verse 6. This is that our good works cannot earn us entrance into heaven. Isaiah tells us this very plainly and clearly in this verse. No matter how many good works we do, they will never erase the sins we’ve committed. Sin makes us unclean, and because of that we cannot approach God’s presence. Can a filthy beggar in putrid, bloody rags come present himself to the King? We are infected by sin. Our only hope is by putting faith in what Jesus did on the cross for us. His Blood alone cleanses us from our sin. Our works cannot save us, only God’s grace can (Ephesians 2:8-9). All of our supposed righteousness, or good works, are nothing compared to God’s infinite righteousness.
The third important verse is found in verse 8, where Isaiah reminds us that God is our heavenly Potter, and we are the clay in His hands. This is a theme that the later prophet, Jeremiah, also spoke of in Jeremiah 18:1-6. The lump of clay does not tell the potter what to do, what to make, or how to make it. That is the potter’s decision. God is our Potter, and we are His clay. He decides what He wishes to do with us. Our job as the clay is to yield ourselves into His hands, and trust Him that He will make something beautiful with us. Don’t fight the Potter, but trust Him and yield to Him and His divine wisdom.
The final verse, verse 9, wraps up this passage of Scripture with a prayer to God to not be furious with us, nor remember our sins we’ve committed against Him. If we’ve put our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus, and have claimed His Blood as payment for our sins, then we can know that our sins are forgiven and cast into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:18-19). If we have accepted the Lord Jesus as our Savior, then, and only then, are we His people.
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