Simeon & Anna: A Lifetime of Waiting

Waiting With Hope

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Simeon spent his life waiting for one thing: the Savior God had promised. Waiting is hard for everyone, young and old. Simeon shows us how to wait well.

A long wait. God first promised a Savior right after Adam and Eve sinned (Genesis 3:15). Thousands of years passed before Jesus was born.

Promise after promise. God told Abraham, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). Isaiah said, “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given” (Isaiah 9:6).

Still waiting. In Simeon's day, Rome ruled the land. Many people had stopped expecting God to act. Simeon kept believing.

How he waited. Simeon was “just and devout” (Luke 2:25). He did what was right toward people, and he loved God with his whole heart while he waited.

What he waited for. He was “waiting for the Consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25). He was waiting for God's comfort, and the comfort turned out to be a Person.

A promise just for him. The Holy Spirit showed Simeon “that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ” (Luke 2:26).

Be brave and wait. “Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14).

New strength. “But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31).

Others waited too. Many faithful people “died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off” (Hebrews 11:13). Simeon got to hold the promise in his arms.

Right on time. “When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son” (Galatians 4:4-5). Jesus came at exactly the right moment in history.

Not slow. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise” (2 Peter 3:9). When God seems slow, He is being patient and kind.

Peace at the end. Simeon prayed, “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word” (Luke 2:29). He was not afraid to die, because he had seen Jesus.

What we learn. God keeps His promises, even the ones that take a long time. Waiting with faith means trusting God, doing what is right and staying close to Him.

What to do. Think of something you are waiting for. Each day this week, tell God about it and thank Him that His timing is good.

Simeon lived at the end of a very long wait. His life shows what faithful waiting looks like, and why God's timing can be trusted.

The first promise (Genesis 3:15). The Seed of the woman would bruise the serpent's head. Every later promise of a Savior grew from this one.

Quiet centuries. After Malachi, about four hundred years passed without a new prophet in Israel. The people had come home from exile, but foreign empires still ruled them: Persia, Greece and then Rome.

The Consolation (Luke 2:25). Paraklēsis (say: pah-RAH-klay-sis) means comfort or encouragement. Isaiah 40 begins God's message of comfort for Jerusalem. Simeon waited for God Himself to bring that comfort.

Just and devout. Just describes right living toward people, and devout describes careful reverence toward God. Waiting made Simeon faithful, not lazy.

The Spirit upon him (Luke 2:25-27). The Holy Spirit rested on Simeon, gave him God's promise and guided his steps. In the Old Testament the Spirit came upon chosen people for special tasks.

A personal promise (Luke 2:26). God told Simeon that he would see the Lord's Christ before he died. Simeon held on to that word for years without seeing it happen.

Psalm 27:14. David's call to “Wait on the Lord” comes with “Be of good courage.” Waiting on God is not giving up. It is trusting Him while time passes.

Isaiah 40:29-31. God “gives power to the weak.” Waiting on Him renews strength instead of draining it.

Hebrews 11:13. Abraham and others “died in faith, not having received the promises.” Simeon stands at the end of that line, the one who finally held what they had only seen from far off.

The fullness of the time (Galatians 4:4-5). God chose the exact moment in history for His Son to come. Roman roads, a common Greek language and Israel's long hope were all in place.

Depart in peace (Luke 2:29). Simeon's peace came from seeing God's salvation. For a Christian, death is not the end but going to be with Christ: “to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

Application. Waiting shows what we really trust. When you have to wait, keep obeying, keep praying and keep your eyes on Jesus, as Simeon did.

Faithful to the End

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Anna had been waiting for God longer than most people live. Her story shows that a hard life can still be a life full of God.

A sad beginning. Anna was married only seven years before her husband died (Luke 2:36). She lived as a widow for many years after that.

She ran to God. Anna could have become bitter. Instead she “did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day” (Luke 2:37).

Prayer. Prayer is talking with God. Paul wrote about “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:18). Supplication means asking God for what is needed.

Fasting. Fasting means going without food for a time to pray and seek God. It does not earn God's love. It helps us pay attention to Him.

Peace in prayer. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).

New every morning. Through all her years, God was faithful to Anna. “They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Thankful. When Anna saw Jesus, “she gave thanks to the Lord” (Luke 2:38). Her first response was praise.

She told others. She “spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38). She knew other people who were waiting, and she told them the good news.

Young and old. God promised, “Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams” (Joel 2:28). God uses people of every age.

The Spirit lives in us. The Holy Spirit came upon Simeon. Jesus promised that the Spirit would live in every believer: “He dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:17).

We are waiting too. Christians are waiting for Jesus to come back. “To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time” (Hebrews 9:28).

His promise. Jesus said, “I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3).

What we learn. A faithful life is built one day at a time, with prayer, thankfulness and telling others about Jesus.

What to do. Pick a time each day to pray, like Anna. Thank God for Jesus, and tell one person this week what Jesus means to you.

Anna shows faithfulness over many years of loss and waiting. Her life also shows that the Holy Spirit works in every age group, and that God's people are still waiting today.

Widowhood in Israel. A widow often had no income and little protection. God commanded special care for widows (Deuteronomy 24:19). Anna's need drove her toward God, not away from Him.

Served (Luke 2:37). The word latreuō (say: lah-TROO-oh) means to serve in worship. Anna's prayers and fasts were her service to God, as real as any priest's work.

Fasting. In Scripture, fasting goes with prayer, turning back to God and seeking His direction (Joel 2:12-13; Acts 13:2-3). Jesus taught that it should be done for God's eyes, not to be seen (Matthew 6:16-18).

Prayer that keeps going. Ephesians 6:18 calls for “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.” Anna lived that way long before Paul wrote it.

Thanksgiving (Luke 2:38). Anna's first response to Jesus was thanks. “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Telling others. Anna kept speaking about Jesus to the faithful who “looked for redemption in Jerusalem.” Like the shepherds before her (Luke 2:17), she spread the news.

Joel 2:28 and Acts 2:17-18. Joel promised the Spirit on sons and daughters, young and old. Peter said that promise came true at Pentecost. Many Christians see Simeon and Anna as a preview of that promise.

Upon and within. Before Pentecost, the Spirit came upon people like Simeon for special purposes. Jesus promised something new: “He dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17). Now the Spirit lives in every believer (1 Corinthians 6:19).

Hebrews 9:28. Christ “will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation” to those who “eagerly wait for Him.” The church waits as Simeon and Anna did.

Philippians 3:20. “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Christians live as people with a home still ahead.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout.” Many Christians see this as the moment Jesus comes to take His church home.

Application. Build habits now that can last a lifetime: daily prayer, worship with God's people, thankfulness and telling others about Jesus. Anna's long faithfulness was made of small daily choices.

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