Day 2 | The Wonder of Hope with Pastor Van Clements
One of the special characters of the Christmas Story shows up right at the end. Luke 2:25-35 records his special input into the narrative.
Simeon. A priest. A man who loved God. One well trained in the law, literature and tradition. He has been waiting for the consolation of Israel, meaning the One who was promised to come and save them. The Holy Spirit had given him a special word that he would see the Messiah before he died. Then on one particular day, late in his life, he is led by the Spirit and entered the temple. He saw the child and took him in his arms and prayed.
• You can release your servant in peace as You promised.
• With my own eyes I’ve seen your salvation. In fact, it’s now out in the open for everyone to see.
• A light that reveals God to the non-Jewish nations and a glory for Your people Israel. (V. 31-32)
How long had he waited? His whole life. What had he perched his hope on? The promise of God.
I wonder how many days he showed up there at the temple, looking around for a potential child. How old would he be when He came? What if the parents didn’t bring Him by the temple? What if he was sick on the day that the family came to Jerusalem?
I wonder how many questions he had over so many days of waiting. Probably about as many or more as you and I have in our waiting. The “what ifs”, the “but how will it”, the “I’m not so sure you really said...” moments in our prayer life. These are pretty normal and we all must get past them.
I wonder if we can take comfort from a old man named Simeon today. He knew lots of information, had lots of experience, and he was well trained. But his singular focus was the promise of God. You might say, “I don’t have a special word from God.” I can understand why you would say that, but I would say... I think you do. He has given you His Holy Spirit to remind you of everything Jesus taught, promised, and lived out.
I wonder what promise (of the many that Jesus made) that you need to hold on to today. I would suggest it might be worth holding on. It just might be worth the wait.
2 Corinthians 1:20
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “yes’’ in Christ. and so through him the “amen“ is spoken by us to the Glory oF God.
