His Holiness Pope Shenouda explains that difficult events such as earthquakes or epidemics are not mere natural phenomena, but warning bells from God calling people to repentance and spiritual awakening. God does not wish anyone to perish, but that all should return to Him, so He sometimes uses hardships as acts of love and mercy.

🌿 Warning as a Form of Mercy

Divine warnings are signs of mercy, not punishment. God gives humans the chance to think about themselves, review their hearts, and care for their eternity. The purpose of every warning is that the person wakes up from spiritual sleep and returns to repentance.

📖 Biblical Examples of Warnings

• Adam: warned before the fall, “the day you eat of it you shall surely die.”

• Noah: warned the world of the flood, but they did not listen and perished.

• Sodom and Gomorrah: angels were sent to warn, but they refused.

• Nineveh: heard Jonah’s warning, repented, and was saved.

• Pharaoh: received many plagues as warnings yet hardened his heart.

• Judas: was warned by Christ Himself but did not respond.
  These examples show that God always warns before judgment but allows human freedom to accept or reject His call.

💡 How to Hear God’s Voice

God’s voice may come to us in various ways:

• Through life events that shake our comfort.

• Through Scripture and the Word of God.

• Through a faithful person’s advice.

• Or even through illness or failure that awakens the conscience.
  A wise person listens the first time, but a hardened heart needs heavier blows to awaken.

⚖️ The Danger of Ignoring Warnings

His Holiness explains that ignoring God’s voice is spiritually dangerous. Samson, though repeatedly warned, did not learn until he lost his strength. Balaam saw God’s miracles yet followed his inner desire — both examples of ignoring divine warning.

💖 The Spiritual Purpose of Warnings

God desires salvation, not destruction. A hardship that awakens the soul is better than comfort that kills the spirit. Every believer must use life’s trials as opportunities for repentance and deeper faith.

🙏 Final Call

The sermon concludes with a heartfelt appeal:
“Open your ear to God’s voice and do not harden your heart. Be sensitive to His work in your life, and say: Lord, I am with You — do with me as You will.”

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