Waiting Over #adventbookclub – Day 32
Luke 2:25-32 (CEV)
25 At this time a man named Simeon was living in Jerusalem. Simeon was a good man. He loved God and was waiting for God to save the people of Israel. God’s Spirit came to him 26 and told him that he would not die until he had seen Christ the Lord.
27 When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple to do what the Law of Moses says should be done for a new baby, the Spirit told Simeon to go into the temple. 28 Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms and praised God,
29 “Lord, I am your servant,
and now I can die in peace,
because you have kept
your promise to me.
30 With my own eyes I have seen
what you have done
to save your people,
31 and foreign nations
will also see this.
32 Your mighty power is a light
for all nations,
and it will bring honor
to your people Israel.”
This is the most beautiful passage. A man who has been waiting for this moment, sees his faithfulness fulfilled. He was waiting for God to come, and now he can die in peace. God has done as he promised. Simeon has seen it. He knows that this child, placed in his arms, is the one.
This picture encapsulates the look on his face, he knows and he is blessed.
Along with Maggi (p144), I wonder, in his waiting how many children, and probably adults too, he has cast his eye over – wondering if they were The One. Was this him? Now his time of waiting is realised. It was not a vain hope. God is good. God is true.
Maggi also touches on feelings of having waited and lived in expectation, what now? Christmas has been and gone – and…
We all know the feelings of anti-climax when something so longed for has now passed. Maybe it was a wonderful time, and now it’s back to reality, or perhaps it was a total disappointment and we are left with feelings of dissatisfaction, or perhaps we feared it would be awful – and it was…
This takes me back to the very powerful Day 1.
God is there whether I realise it or not. Whether he’s where I’m looking or not. He just is there.
And God continues to be there, here, however we feel, wherever ‘here’ is.
As the old car sticker goes,
Jesus is for life, not just for Christmas.
He is the fulfilment of our hopes and dreams – and the reality of our everyday – every day.
We may not know what this years holds. We may have hopes, we may have fears, we may have expectations, we may have realities to face – but in each and every one of them – God is here. Let’s not spend so much time longing and waiting, that we miss Jesus when he is right in front of us.
Lord Let Thy Servant Now Depart in Peace
Lord,
I long to see you,
every day.
May I not miss you
when you are there
in front of me,
around me,
within me.
Thank you
for your presence
day by day,
in all the circumstances of my life,
every day of the year.
May I look for you
and find you
This year, several of us are reading Beginnings and Endings by Maggi Dawn and joining together to comment on it. Do join us at the Adventbookclub Facebook page, follow #adventbookclub on Twitter or comment below. If you are also reading and blogging on this book, let me know and I will link to your blog.
Pam's Perambulation 