Simeon and Anna: Models of Faithful Waiting
I wrote last month that as believers we are presently in the “between time” of Christ’s First and Second Comings. We live in the “already-not yet” period. Christ has already come and brought salvation through His life, death, and resurrection to all of us who believe. We are waiting on the “not yet” of His glorious return to rescue God’s children and judge the wicked. We are not the first saints to find ourselves waiting in a “between time.” Like us, the Old Testament saints likewise waited between the promises of God’s coming Messiah and the fulfillment of those promises in the birth of Jesus. This example is a grace to us because it provides a paradigm for how we might faithfully wait on the fulfilment of God’s promises. Let us consider a model of faithfully waiting in the lives of Simeon and Anna.
Four Lessons on Waiting Well
In Luke 2, we are told about two faithful believers who have been waiting to meet the coming Messiah. In obedience to the Law, Joseph and Mary circumcise Jesus and present him at the temple in Jerusalem where Simeon and Anna are both serving the Lord. The interactions between Jesus’ family and these two believers showcase four attitudes that enable us to wait well on the fulfillment of God’s promises.
Wait Expectantly
First, we must learn to wait expectantly. One of the temptations that prevails upon us as we wait is to become apathetic and comfortable. The longer we await the more likely we are to assume that what we are waiting for will never come. We tend to become lulled into apathy becoming settled into “the way things are.” Perhaps we even begin to think that what we are waiting on isn’t really all that glorious. This is not the way that Simeon and Anna are waiting on the first coming of Jesus. Luke describes Simeon as one who is “looking for the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25). Simeon hasn’t settled for the present reality. He is expecting God to fulfill His promise (Luke 2:26). Likewise, when Anna sees Jesus, she can’t help but to continually speak with great thankfulness to those who “were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38). Let us imitate the attitudes of Simeon and Anna believing that what we are waiting on something worth infinitely more than anything we have now. Let us learn to wait expectantly and longingly for what God has promised.
Wait with Hope
Second, we must learn to wait with hope. Not only are we often lulled into apathy as we wait, we also find ourselves tempted towards despair. Perhaps we look around at our broken and fallen world and think that God cannot really do anything about its desperate condition. We listen to our anxieties and worries and become downcast and despairing. Simeon and Anna demonstrate a completely different attitude in the face of such realities. Luke presents both figures as having waited on the coming of Jesus for a very long time. And yet, their faith is strong. They don’t have a “hope so” kind of faith but a “know so” kind of faith. They are thoroughly convinced that God will perform what He promised. Let us also wait with firm conviction—true biblical hope—that what God has promised, He will perform.
Wait Actively
Third, we must learn to wait actively. When we wait in a line or the drive thru, we think of that as just sitting. We think of ourselves as doing nothing as we wait. We might even comment that we are wasting time. Waiting seems to us a passive state. However, Simeon and Anna clearly view waiting upon the promise of God to be a motivation to active service and obedience. Simeon is said to be “righteous and devout” indicating that he is actively serving the Lord daily as he waits upon the Promised One (Luke 2:25). Anna also never leaves the temple “serving night and day with fastings and prayers” even at age 84 (Luke 2:37)! Waiting on the Second Coming of our Lord is not a waste of time. Waiting on Jesus’ return is not passive. Waiting on Jesus to come again should prompt us day by day to serve, worship, and obey the Lord. Let us wait like Simeon and Anna serving the Lord with active zeal.
Wait with Others
Fourth, we must learn to wait with others. Waiting by yourself is usually boring and lonely, but waiting with others is often leads to fun and joy. Simeon and Anna seem to be a part of small remnant of people who are actively longing and looking for the Messiah. They go to the temple. They talk with “those who were looking” for the Messiah. They are not waiting alone. In a world that has no care for the coming of Jesus, the church stands as a remnant of faithful waiters. We do well when we wait together. Indeed, we should not forsake “our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Heb. 10:24-25). Let us be like Simeon and Anna and wait well together as the day of Jesus’ coming drawing ever nearer.
