For generations the people of Israel had been waiting for their Messiah. Centuries of wondering. Centuries of hoping and trusting. Would God keep His promises? Would He really send The One who would rescue them and set up the throne of David and establish His Kingdom? In every century and in every generation there were always the faithful few who did not forget the LORD their God and who continued to walk in His ways¸ keeping His command to love Him with all their heart and soul and mind and strength. It was only those few who were prepared to recognize this Savior when God did keep His promise. Those few had never stopped waiting and watching because they believed God.
One of those faithful and devout people was Simeon and another was a lady named Anna. Throughout their lifetime each of them had been strong in their faith and unwavering in their convictions. They apparently knew that to live expectantly, anticipating that God would keep His promises to them and to their people, was their mission in life, so they continued to wait with hope and confidence for that day. They knew what David meant when he repeatedly said in his psalms of response to his God, “It is good to wait on the Lord and to put your trust in the Lord.” Can you even imagine the level of their joy when they recognized they had had the great privilege of seeing the Messiah, the one who would bring deliverance to all people?
Someone has aptly said, “Never think that God’s delays are God’s denials.” John Ortberg reminds us that “Waiting is not just something we have to do until we get what we want from the Lord. Waiting is part of the process of becoming what God wants us to be.” How willing are you to live in expectant hope and patient waiting on the Lord so that He can accomplish His desires in your life and bring glory and honor to His holy name?