Waiting With Simeon

 

Scripture: Luke 2:25-32 (ESV)

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, ²⁸ he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

²⁹     “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,

according to your word;

³⁰     for my eyes have seen your salvation

³¹         that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

³²     a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and for glory to your people Israel.”

 

Devotion:

 

            Advent is a season of waiting. In today’s scripture we meet someone who was waiting for God to act and bring forth the Messiah. We do not know much about Simeon from the scriptures. We assume he is older due to verse 26 which talks about his death. While we do not have many facts about the man’s physical being we are told that he was righteous and devout. His spiritual life is exemplary.

 

            Simeon, Luke tells us, was doing some God appointed waiting. He had somehow received a word from the Lord that he would not die until he had seen God’s Messiah. Simeon obeyed the call to wait and was rewarded by seeing Joseph and Mary bringing Jesus to the temple. He was shown that this tiny baby was indeed the one that he was expecting. He rejoices and declares the truth about this child for all who were in the temple to hear.

 

            What about us? For what are we waiting? We are living in an age where waiting is seen in a very negative light. We get impatient quickly, and we complain if our wait is too long. While we do not know how long Simeon was waiting for the Lord we marvel at his patience. I wonder how we would respond if the Lord told us to wait for something? We like to think that we would be as obedient as Simeon. However, it is likely that we would fail the test. I, for one, have no confidence in my flesh with regard to waiting.

 

            Let us ask the Lord to increase our tolerance for waiting:

 

Prayer:

 

            Lord, we know that we are a people who resist waiting. Help us to be more like Simeon and accept that waiting can sometimes be your plan for us. Lord, calm our restless hearts. May our hearts and minds find their rest in you. Teach us to be patient when things go wrong in our lives. Help us to find your peace, which passes our ability to understand. May we follow Simeon’s example and wait patiently but expectantly this Advent season for your return. Amen.