Preparing Our Hearts: What Advent Really Means

Are you familiar with Advent? If so, is it part of your Christmas tradition? Or is it a newer concept you’re still trying to understand?

For most of my life, Advent sat quietly in the background of the Christmas season. I knew the word, I’d seen the candles, but I didn’t fully grasp its significance. Only in recent years have I come to appreciate just how important it is, and how deeply it connects to the heart of the Christmas story.

Yes, Jesus came to earth as a baby. But He didn’t stay a baby. He grew into a man who came for one purpose: to die for the sins of all people. And He did. But that isn’t the end of the story. It’s the beginning of the most astonishing truth of all. He rose from the dead. And Scripture tells us He is coming back again, this time to rule and reign as King forever.

When Advent traditions first began, they weren’t centered on celebrating Jesus’ birth. They were focused on preparing for His return. Advent was a season of anticipation, longing, and readiness. As believers, that same anticipation still belongs to us today. We wait for our King.

So instead of being swept into the hectic pace of December, I want to invite you, as we enter this third week of Advent, to slow down. Choose stillness. Prepare your heart.

Here are seven Scriptures to meditate on this week:

• “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.”
  Psalm 119:15

• “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
  Philippians 4:8

• “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.”
  Psalm 63:6

• “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”
  Isaiah 30:21

• “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
  Psalm 119:11

• “For the word of God is alive and active… it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
  Hebrews 4:12

• “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
  Matthew 11:28

Take time to rest. Share the load with others. Sometimes the traditions we love aren’t the ones everyone else cherishes, and that’s okay. Let this be a season of grace.

Most importantly, prepare your heart for the return of our Savior.

Christmas calls us to celebrate His birth, but Advent calls us to remember that He is coming again. And while Advent will end and Christmas will pass, His promise remains.

As we approach a new year, consider making daily time with Jesus a priority. Tom and I spend our mornings separately, reading God’s Word and praying. In the evenings, we read a devotional together and pray as a couple. That rhythm may not be the right fit for you, but find one that is.

The goal isn’t perfection. It’s preparation.

Because one day, “the last trumpet will sound,” and “the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:52

Let your heart be ready.

Watch a personal message from Mindi here: