On Sunday, we talked about the importance of waiting. What are you waiting for this Christmas? I remember waiting for Christmas day to arrive as a kid. The days we long as I anticipated Christmas morning! Fast forward to 2018, It is hard to accomplish everything in time for Christmas as a Dad!
We spend a good amount of our lives waiting. We aren’t born with the desire to wait. The world we live in doesn’t help us wait. We want things faster and faster.
The truth is, God has a plan in our waiting.
In Luke 2, we see a guy who waited on God. A lot! Who? Simeon.
“Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.”
People had been waiting for the Messiah for more than 400 year. As the years passed, Simeon must have wondered if God was going to come through on His promise.
“For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Simon says in other words: “Lord, I can die a happy man; You’ve kept Your promise to me. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.””
Joy begins by waiting expectantly.
Waiting on God involves being active, not passive. Literally when it says to wait in Luke 2:25, it means to “lean forward.”Joy grows by listening to God’s Spirit.
Simeon lived day-to-day listening to the Holy Spirit. He walked in step with the Spirit of God. Do you listen for God’s leading? In prayer? In reading His Word? Are we too busy to stop and listen?Joy is found in believing in what God has promised.
Anybody can make a promise; God's great at keeping them. Simeon wasn’t alone in his joy. Anna was also there celebrating Jesus (Luke 2:36-38). She was an example of faithful waiting. As she waited, she was actively serving God.Live like Jesus is coming back today.
Simeon and Anna’s experience is a foreshadowing of Jesus’ promise to return! One day, Jesus will come and change everything. We wait expectantly for His arrival!
““However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.”
“You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”
““Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”
What are you doing while you are waiting?
- Are you waiting expectantly?
- Are you listening to God?
- Are you trusting in God’s promises?
- Are you living like Jesus is coming back today?