Waiting Well

In our passage, God promised Simeon that he would see the Messiah before he died. We are not told when Simeon was promised by God or how long he waited. But he did wait for God to fulfill His promise to him.

In Simeon’s time of waiting on God, he believed God would fulfill his promise to him. Also, in his time of waiting, Simeon still followed God and served Him as he was called. And wouldn’t you know it…God was faithful to keep His promise, according to His timing and His plans.

Not only did God keep His promise to Simeon, but He also kept His promise to the Jews and the Gentiles of a savior that would come (vv.32-33). Just as Simeon waited and clung to God’s promise, there are times we must do the same. In our time of waiting on God, we need to have faith and cling to His promises that He will fulfill them in His time.

This actually serves as a test of our faith. Charles Spurgeon once said, “A faith that cannot be tested is a faith that cannot be trusted.” It takes faith to wait on God’s promises and to cling to them, and this is where our faith comes into practice. It’s also a test of faith because Satan loves to come in a time of waiting and attack our faith and our walk with God. He will fire all the fiery darts he can to get us to doubt God’s promises. He will do all that he can to stop us from following God and serving Him in our time of waiting.

So look to God and remember He is faithful to fulfill His promises. Paul’s last words to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:7-8 were “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Waiting for God takes fighting the good fight, running the race, and keeping the faith. So, let’s be like Simeon and cling to the promises of God in our time of waiting.