In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. – Luke 2:1-7
22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” 33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” – Luke 2:22-35
Human life is laced with seasons of waiting. We wait for answers, for change, for healing, for clarity. Often waiting feels like an unwelcome interruption. Yet Scripture shows us that waiting can become a place where God meets us with new depth and new vision. Advent reminds us of this truth: it slows our stride, turns our gaze towards God’s promises, and teaches us to listen for the quiet movements of grace.
In Luke’s gospel, Mary and Joseph bring the infant Jesus to Jerusalem to dedicate him to the Lord. In the temple courts, they meet Simeon, a man who embodies what it looks like to wait faithfully. Luke tells us he was looking for “the consolation of Israel” (verse 25), the long-promised Messiah, who would rescue God’s people. Simeon lived in the space between promise given and promise seen, a space many of us know well.
Too often, we imagine that life will begin only after certain events fall into a place: “when I achieve this”, “when I meet the right person”, “when circumstances finally shift”…”then I’ll feel whole.” But Simeon’s story challenges the idea that waiting is passive or void of any importance. Simeon doesn’t treat waiting as a pause button. Instead, he waits with attentiveness, shaped by God’s word and guided by God’s Spirit.
Luke says the Holy Spirit had made known to Simeon that he would see the Lord’s Messiah before he died (verse 26). That revelation became the ground of his hope. Simeon wasn’t clinging to vague optimism. He was holding onto God’s faithfulness. True hope doesn’t rest in whatever it is we desire, but in the character of God, who keeps His word, who never abandons His people, who works for good… even when circumstances remain unresolved.
We often resist waiting because it exposes our limits. Yet God uses these very stretches of time to form us. Most often, change we want most seems to be outward, but the change God accomplishes is often inward – quiet, deep, transformative. This brought up a couple meaningful questions for me this morning:
- Who are we becoming as we wait?
- Is our waiting drawing us deeper into our relationship with God or draining us because we’re trying to endure it alone?
Luke describes Simeon as a man upon who the Holy Spirit rested. His capacity to wait didn’t come from personal grit but from ongoing communion with God. The Greek root for waiting is related to the word for abiding. Waiting, then, is not passive, as I mentioned; it’s staying close to God in the tension and the questions. Jesus reminds us of this in John 15: “Abide in me.” In our waiting, Christ invites us to remain with Him, to endure alongside Him, trusting that His Spirit will sustain us.
When the time came for Mary and Joseph to present Jesus, Luke tells us that Simeon came “in the Spirit” to the temple (verse 27). He was going on with just an ordinary day, living with a posture of openness. At the right moment, he arrived at the right place… led not by chance but by the Spirit who had been forming him through years of expectancy. When Simeon took Jesus in his arms, he recognized the One he had been waiting for for so long. His life could now move forward in peace because he had encountered God’s Salvation face to face.
Simeon’s joy was not just personal fulfillment; it was a glimpse of God’s comfort reaching the nations. His waiting ended in worship that overflowed beyond himself into God’s redemptive plan for the world.
We can wait – because God waits. Scripture shows us a God who moves in perfect time, who holds every unanswered longing within His steadfast love. Wherever we find ourselves in the slow passages of life, God has already been there, and He alone can carry us until His purposes unfold.
My prayer for us during this season of Advent is that this season of waiting becomes a time and place of encounter – where hope is renewed, where the Spirit strengthens us, and where Christ Himself becomes our consolation.