The Wait

           I recently purchased an item and waited for it to be shipped only to find out that the item had a delay on it and would not be shipped until another thirty days. I felt like saying “boo, hiss” but there is nothing that I can do about it except wait for it to come. I hope that it will be worth the wait. Many people find that they have to wait for one thing or another in their lives. It won't be the first time I have had to wait for something and probably won't be the last. I usually don't have to wait for things on my grocery list but most everything else in my life requires some period of wait before I actually get the item. There was a man that we find in the New Testament that had a special “wait” in his life and that man was called Simeon. Luke 2:26 says, “And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.” 

           Simeon was waiting for something that was far more important than anything that I have had to wait for. He was waiting for the Messiah. He had been promised that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. Israel had been waiting for the Messiah for almost 4,000 years. The first indication was to be found in the Book of Genesis and then reference to the coming Messiah was sprinkled throughout the period of the Old Testament. Many Old Testament women were hopeful that the man child born to them might be the coming Messiah. The Messiah had been promised but where was He? When would He come? Simeon's had a special promise given to him and that was that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. You might wonder just how he was going to recognize the Messiah when he saw him for the first time. We have the account in the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke. Verses 28-31 say, “Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;” There was no trumpet fanfare or any special announcement. Simeon knew the moment He held the baby Jesus in his arms that he was holding the Son of God. His waiting had ended and he knew that he could now go to his eternal rest and peace. There probably not any cases in the world today where a believer is waiting for something for all his life and then when he gets it, he is going to die. We usually have hope of utilizing whatever it was that we were waiting for in the first place. It could be the occupancy of a new or different dwelling place or a new car or even a new appliance. Our hope is not that we are going to pass on after receiving the new item, but that we will have a life time of use of the item before we go to our eternal reward. Simeon, on the other hand, knew that when He had seen the promised Messiah that He was going to pass on in peace. There may be some things in your life right now for which you are waiting. It could be the birth of a child in your family or the healing of someone who is sick that is close to you. One important thing to note is the God is faithful to His Word and If He says it, He does it. God was faithful to His promise to Simeon and God is also faithful to the promises that He has given to us in His Word. How about, “I will come again...” May we all rest in His promises. Praise God today for His promises to us in His Word.