Volume 1 · Week 12 — Waiting for God’s Time
Day 83 — A Hope That Grows Old Without Dying
Main verse
“And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.”
— Luke 2:25 (KJV)
Meditation
Simeon had been waiting a long time. The Gospel does not tell us how many years he had carried this hope, but his waiting seemed to have become one of the deep orientations of his life. He awaited the consolation of Israel.
Anna also knew the passage of time. Widowed after a few years of marriage, she had reached an advanced age. She remained in the temple, serving God through fasting and prayer. Neither Simeon nor Anna had allowed the years to extinguish their waiting completely.
Time can wear hope down. A promise once vivid becomes harder to carry as seasons pass without visible fulfillment. We can continue believing outwardly while inwardly ceasing to expect anything new.
Yet Simeon and Anna did not spend their lives in empty waiting. They prayed, served, and remained ready. When Mary and Joseph entered the temple with Jesus, they recognized in this child what many others did not see.
A long wait had shaped their sight.
Not all our personal hopes will necessarily be fulfilled as we wish. Some will need to be transformed or laid down. But hope placed in God does not depend only on a particular outcome. It believes that our present faithfulness has meaning, even when we cannot yet see where it leads.
A faith that grows old in waiting is not necessarily a faith that has failed. The years can deepen our ability to recognize God in what seems small, fragile, or unexpected.
Like Simeon and Anna, let us ask for hearts that stay open. What we have long awaited may come in a humbler form than we imagined.
Psalm
Psalm 71:14–19 (KJV)
14 But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more. 15 My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof. 16 I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. 17 O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. 18 Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come. 19 Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee!
Further Bible reading
Luke 2:22–38; Isaiah 40:28–31; Hebrews 6:10–15
Suggested hymn
The Church Hymnal (1941), no. 387 — “How Cheering Is the Christian’s Hope”
Prayer
Lord, when the years pass and my hope grows weary, keep my heart open. Help me continue to pray, serve, and recognize your presence in what seems small. Help me lay down the expectations that need to be transformed and preserve those that rest on your faithfulness. Amen.
A thought to keep
A long wait is not necessarily a lost hope; it can become a gaze prepared to recognize God.
Personal Notes
What would you like to remember, pray about, or put into practice today?