What to Do in Seasons of Waiting

Waiting. 
A part of life every human being has and will experience at some point. One word that provokes thousands of thoughts and scenarios. A concept both simple and complex. 
We all wait. 
We wait for SAT scores. 
We wait for appointments and deadlines. 
We wait for payday. 
We wait for first dates, wedding dates, and due dates. 
We wait for holidays. 
We wait while we hurt, while we suffer, and while we heal.

But can you imagine what it must have been like to wake up every single day, eagerly and desperately waiting to see the Messiah? To live at a time where He was promised but had not yet arrived? Can you fathom wondering if Jesus would walk the earth during your lifetime? 

Simeon’s Story

Simeon knew this kind of wonder. He knew this kind of waiting. 

Luke 2:25-28 says, “Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: ‘Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.’” 

We learn that Simeon was a man who lived righteous and devout. In other words, he was morally upright and devoted to worship. He was waiting for the Messiah and held onto the promise made by the Holy Spirit that he would, in fact, see Jesus before he died. He walked into the temple that day simply because he was moved by the Spirit to do so. In his waiting, Simeon walked so closely with the Lord that he knew His voice and obeyed without delay. What was the first thing Simeon did when he saw Jesus? He declared the Lord faithful to His promises! He says to the Lord that he can die in peace because He kept His promise. Simeon saw with his own eyes the Lord’s Christ and felt peace in the sight of Jesus. 

Simeon lived certain of Christ even before he physically saw Him. He rested in the faithfulness of God as he waited. He listened, he obeyed, and anticipation was always in his heart. 

What if we lived like this? 

In seasons of waiting, what if we lived morally upright and devoted to worship?

What if we anticipated and believed God for His promises around every turn?

What if we walked confidently in the peace that Jesus provides? 

What if, in any season of waiting, we lived certain of who Jesus is, even if we can’t see Him at work? 

Sometimes, what we do while we wait is just as important as the thing we are waiting on. 

Waiting involves action. If we “walk” with the Lord in our seasons of waiting the way Simeon did, this requires movement. Exuding energy. Putting in work. We might break a sweat, we might be brought to tears or even weeping, and we might bleed. Refinement in the waiting process leads to peace in the promised land. 

Behind every season of waiting should be a heart on fire to know God. Not to obsess over why He has put us in the season that He did, but to know HIM. To know Him truly means to truly know Peace. And that is a certainty worth waiting for. 

Join us in-person or online for A Certain Kind of Christmas, a four-week Advent series at Grace!