Answering God's Call

Worth the Waiting

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised…” (Luke 2:29)

“Do you knot know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak…but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint…” (Isa 40:31)

It would have been an ordinary morning in the temple courts had it not been for the unlikely remarks an aged man made about a seemingly ordinary child. Somehow, a pair of old eyes saw what many failed to see in the boy that day. To others, he was just a baby wrapped in his mother’s arms, but to Simeon, he was no less than the very answer to a long standing promise: God’s redemption of Jerusalem. 

For the old man, God’s promise is certain and he held on to it as a guarantee that things will be just as God has told him- “that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ”. It appears that the promise is what keeps him going through old age with much vigor and anticipation. He waited because He knew God’s promises are certain, otherwise he would have just wasted his time.

In the same way, waiting on God for the fulfillment of His promises should not be seen as wasting time. It is not even an excuse to allow our lives be drifted with uncertainties. No, waiting with the certainty of God’s promises ushers us to make every day a decision to discern His Spirit guiding and leading us to what could be answers to our prayers. 

Much of our impatience actually sprouts from our mistrust caused by the many people who have disappointed us. Every failed promise increases our doubt until we become skeptical to everyone including God. Indeed, the promise is only as good as the one who promised. But unlike the people who have failed us, God is trustworthy. Simeon knew this. His waiting was ignited by a firm hope in the ability of God to, in His perfect timing, fulfill His promises. 

If Simeon finds strength in his old age to believe God’s promises, how much more we who are way below his years. It’s about time that we magnify God as the Great Promise-Keeper who does not break His promises. In Him we place our hope and, thus, our strength is renewed.