Faithful Waiting
Waiting for the Light to Come | Erik Reed
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. 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. LUKE 2:25-26 (ESV)
A lot of life is waiting. Couples who discover they are having a child wait for months for its arrival. Students wait years to finish their education. Kids wait until their sixteenth birthday to get a driver’s license. Adults wait to find the right job or to buy their dream home. Waiting is an inescapable part of life.
One of the big themes found in Scripture is waiting. The people of God waited for the promises the LORD gave them to come to fruition. Abraham and Sarah waited for a child. David waited for his turn to reign as king of Israel. The nation waited for the promised Messiah. This theme of waiting for the Messiah is crucial in Scripture. God promised to send a Redeemer to the nations who would be crushed for the iniquities and sins of His people (Isaiah 53). God’s people knew the promises and longed for the day of their fulfillment. Even the prophets longed to see the promises of the Messiah’s coming fulfilled (Matthew 13:17).
Our passage today introduces us to one individual who waited. Simeon was a righteous and devout man. He loved the LORD, and the Holy Spirit revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah come. Imagine this promise! Millions of Jewish men and women had lived and died waiting on the promise to be realized. Their faith rested on God’s faithfulness to do what He says He will do. They had to trust God’s timing. They relied on His wisdom to determine when the Redeemer would come. But Simeon trusted God’s word to Him. He waited with faith.
Faithful waiting is the lot of Christians. Before Jesus’ birth, God’s people waited for the Savior’s arrival. After Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection, believers await the Day He returns to make all things new. We wait in a world filled with afflictions, suffering, and sorrow. We wait on our inheritance in Heaven, but we trust the One who made the promise. This Advent season, as we reflect on how people throughout the Bible were waiting on God’s promise of the Christ to be fulfilled, let’s remember He fulfilled that promise. He will fulfill His promises to us too. We can show our trust in God through our waiting with faith, trust, and hope. We do not lose heart when the wait is long. Our hearts cling to this: God keeps His Word.
Questions for Reflection
This advent devotion, Waiting for Light to Come, was written by Erik Reed and borrowed with permission from Knowing Jesus Ministries. You can find the original publication and more information at https://www.knowingjesusministries.co
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. 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. LUKE 2:25-26 (ESV)
A lot of life is waiting. Couples who discover they are having a child wait for months for its arrival. Students wait years to finish their education. Kids wait until their sixteenth birthday to get a driver’s license. Adults wait to find the right job or to buy their dream home. Waiting is an inescapable part of life.
One of the big themes found in Scripture is waiting. The people of God waited for the promises the LORD gave them to come to fruition. Abraham and Sarah waited for a child. David waited for his turn to reign as king of Israel. The nation waited for the promised Messiah. This theme of waiting for the Messiah is crucial in Scripture. God promised to send a Redeemer to the nations who would be crushed for the iniquities and sins of His people (Isaiah 53). God’s people knew the promises and longed for the day of their fulfillment. Even the prophets longed to see the promises of the Messiah’s coming fulfilled (Matthew 13:17).
Our passage today introduces us to one individual who waited. Simeon was a righteous and devout man. He loved the LORD, and the Holy Spirit revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah come. Imagine this promise! Millions of Jewish men and women had lived and died waiting on the promise to be realized. Their faith rested on God’s faithfulness to do what He says He will do. They had to trust God’s timing. They relied on His wisdom to determine when the Redeemer would come. But Simeon trusted God’s word to Him. He waited with faith.
Faithful waiting is the lot of Christians. Before Jesus’ birth, God’s people waited for the Savior’s arrival. After Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection, believers await the Day He returns to make all things new. We wait in a world filled with afflictions, suffering, and sorrow. We wait on our inheritance in Heaven, but we trust the One who made the promise. This Advent season, as we reflect on how people throughout the Bible were waiting on God’s promise of the Christ to be fulfilled, let’s remember He fulfilled that promise. He will fulfill His promises to us too. We can show our trust in God through our waiting with faith, trust, and hope. We do not lose heart when the wait is long. Our hearts cling to this: God keeps His Word.
Questions for Reflection
- Why is waiting such a difficult practice for us?
- How does God use waiting in our lives to mature us in the faith?
- What are some promises of God you are waiting on Him to fulfill?
This advent devotion, Waiting for Light to Come, was written by Erik Reed and borrowed with permission from Knowing Jesus Ministries. You can find the original publication and more information at https://www.knowingjesusministries.co
4 Comments
Why is waiting such a difficult practice for us? Selfishness.
That's the one word that came to my mind as I read this question. Most of us want what we want, when we want it. Waiting may come naturally to some people but I'll admit it does not for me. Children today are growing up in a culture where everything is at their fingertips through the internet. You can order something and have Amazon deliver it within days. In many ways advanced technology is destroying our ability to wait. If we are honest about it, some of us have come to expect an "Amazon God". We throw up a prayer request on Monday and expect God to have it on our doorstep by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. Spending time in God's word and reading about the great characters of the faith is a wonderful way to learn about waiting.
My oldest child turns 30 years old next week. God had to teach Tina and me a valuable lesson about waiting back in the late 80's and early 90's. We decided it was time to have our first child in 1988 and then a second a few years later and possibly a third after that. Everyone we knew our age at church seemed to be getting pregnant and having babies except us. God allowed us to battle infertility for nearly three years including the loss of one pregnancy. We learned so much about waiting on the Lord and trusting in Him as we waited on His perfect timing. I've always found it interesting that God chose to bring our son into the world two weeks before Christmas on December 10, 1991. Every Christmas when I read the story of the birth of Jesus and how God's people had waited centuries for this blessed event I am reminded of the joy Tina & I felt after only three years of waiting. God's timing is always perfect even when we think it is taking forever. As we enter 2022 and anticipate God's new leader for Center Point Church, the most important thing we can do is pray, wait, and trust God's timing. He will deliver as He always does!
I was going to say what Mike said about why it's difficult for us to wait...we want what we want when we want it. Especially when the culture around us screams instant gratification.
I too have had times when the waiting has been severely hard. After my dad was injured in a car wreck. When a best friend was ill with meningitis. When my friend and pastor was critically ill with COVID. Waiting to find out what was going to happen after Tim died. So many times I cried out to God because everything felt uncertain and I wanted to know.
But God. Each time He proved himself faithful. Each time He answered prayers, even if it wasn't what I wanted. Each time He brought good out of the bad, even if it was years later. Each time my faith has been solidified and matured. His ways and timing are best, even when it doesn't seem like it.
Love the Amazon analogy, Mike! So true about waiting, but it is so evident that it builds faith.
Great point that the problem with waiting is selfishness and wanting a genie-in-a-bottle, Amazon-God. Even when we know that God’s timing & plan are best, and even when He’s proved it over & over, it’s still hard to trust in the waiting on every new occasion. I suppose this is another instance when we need to “preach” to ourselves about God’s faithfulness, and remind ourselves of His goodness in the previous chapters of our own stories. He always keeps His promises. And when His plan it s different from our own, there’s always a good reason even if His plan might hurt a lot at first - Jesus in Gethsemane is our perfect High-Priestly example.