Sometimes when my kids are waiting for company to arrive
they keep going to the door looking for the person expectantly. They say a watched pot never boils and I have
to admit that sometimes having to wait can be hard. We live in a culture that values NOW. In fact, we don’t like to wait for
anything. So imagine waiting for someone
for your entire life…
Simeon had been told by God that he would not die before
seeing God’s Messiah. He had waited
expectantly his whole life for the moment when Messiah would come. I imagine he was probably expecting someone a
bit older. Yet suddenly there Jesus was,
and in his Spirit Simeon knew this baby was Messiah.
Anna had been a widow most of her life. Her husband had died
after only seven years of marriage and yet even at eighty four years old, the
bible says she never left the temple court but was dedicated to prayer and
fasting. She also knew immediately who
this child was because as Simeon was talking to Mary and Joseph Anna began to
tell those gathered about Jesus, even though she had never met him.
It must have been amazing for Mary and Joseph to get these
two distinct confirmations that their son was indeed the Messiah, but God used
the moment both to fulfill his promise to Simeon and also to reward Anna for her
diligence in worship. Their long wait
was finally over and God had remained true to His word. What a amazing moment it must have been for both Simeon
and Anna to finally see Jesus after so many years of waiting and watching.
It’s clear that both Simeon and Anna were not simply
passively waiting, but were actively, deliberately looking and praying for
Jesus to come. I hope you are also
expectantly waiting for Jesus to come.
The question is, what does your wait look like?
