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SOMEONE SPECIAL IS COMING
The Season of Waiting
Alex Janzen
Tuesday, December 17
Luke 2:36-38
Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.
When I was a kid and went shopping with my mom between the months of October-December and I would see something I would want my mother would say, “well.. Christmas is coming!” Aw man, seriously… Not for like 86 days!!!
Advent is the season of waiting for the arrival of someone special. But the truth is, waiting is never fun. I have literally never heard someone say “I just love waiting!” And yet waiting is one of the most consistent themes throughout all Scripture, it really is an integral part of the Christian life with Jesus. And if there is one person who knew a little about waiting, it was Anna, the prophet.
To set the scene, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple 40 days after his birth to complete the purification rites required by Jewish law. While most people in the temple that day just saw another baby, Anna saw much more. Anna’s decades of worship, prayer, and fasting allowed her to see what others couldn’t and to receive this baby as the fulfillment of God’s long awaited promise to Israel first mentioned in Genesis 3. The Messiah was here – God’s salvation had come!
Anna spent her life eagerly awaiting God to fulfill his promise of redemption to the people of Israel and her posture of worship in the waiting prepared her to see it! Excitedly, she shared this good news with all who would hear it!
In many ways, Anna’s faith mirrors our own, full of waiting and longing. We no longer have to wait for the Messiah, but we are often waiting for a fulfillment of God’s promise or provision. Anna didn’t wait until the promise was fulfilled to worship God, but prayed and fasted without knowing when the breakthrough would come. Whether 40 days or 84 years, her faith reminds us that we too can worship while we wait.
Talk to Jesus about what you are waiting and longing for. Then write a list of the gifts he has already given you. Will you choose to worship him only when you receive what you long for, or like Anna, in the season of waiting as well?