Known by God

First, it is such a blessing that God knows us each by name. Although Christianity is not strictly individualist, it is personal. The Church Father Augustine said that God cares for each of us as if there were only one of us. Among the billions of human beings on the plant, each of us is known by God, and He has our attention—especially those who trust in Him. Simeon was known by God, and God had a specific plan and purpose attenuated to him. God’s eyes were on Simeon for his patient waiting. 

Second, it must be noted that Simeon was “righteous and devout.” Sinless? No. But his heart desired after the right things. Like other Israelites, he was waiting for the consolation of the nation, for God to bring peace and liberation after centuries of cyclical judgment and exile. Yet not everyone practiced a holy waiting, even as Jesus described in Matthew 25:1-30. God was pleased with Simeon’s waiting. He trusted in God’s word and promises in faith, just like Noah in the days before the Flood. When it seemed perhaps like nothing would ever change, and the seeds of doubt would sprout up into carelessness, Simeon kept praying and kept waiting.

Impatience can lead us into many wrongs. Abraham and Sarah were not patient for their covenant child but unwisely tried to force what was promised. The nation of Israel often impatiently looked to other nations and other gods for deliverance. Jesus would later urge His disciples to seek after the Kingdom first and to wait upon God to supply their needs. The Sermon on the Mount promised satisfaction to the poor and downcast in an unrighteous age, but not immediately. Waiting is not doing nothing, but it is a prayerful patience that looks to God to fulfill God’s promises in God’s time.

Prayer

Father, thank you for knowing and caring for me in a personal way, and that it pleases You to give Your attention to hearts that look with patient expectation and trust to You. As those like Simeon who were waiting in the days of Jesus’s birth for Israel’s consolation, teach me the holiness of patient waiting and to always be seeking and desiring Your Kingdom first.

Help me to not lose heart in my waiting but as Jesus the Savior arrived at the exact appointed time, may I trust that You will fulfill Your promises in Your time, and may You find me faithful in my waiting, Lord Jesus, when it is time for You to come again.

Amen.