Devotions
Rev Gav
Hear
Luke 2.25-28
At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God...
Reflect
Simeon lived in Jerusalem. He was a devout Jewish believer and someone who listened to the Holy Spirit of God. He was waiting for the promise that had been made to Abraham, and spoken of by the prophets, to come true — the promise that God would deliver Israel, however he was also waiting for the personal promise that God had made to him — that he would see God’s ‘anointed one’ — the Christ or Messiah — before he died. And so, one day, he felt a prompting to go to the temple to pray, and while he was there he saw Joseph and Mary going through their ceremony and presenting Jesus. Even though Simeon was old, he trusted God’s promise.
Listening and being sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit is something that Christians try to do. In my experience, as we grow in our relationship with God, we learn to recognise God’s voice. It is a bit like tuning-in to an old-fashioned radio. Once you recognise the voice of God, it is easier to tune in, and God’s Spirit can speak to us in different ways — for example, through our thoughts, through the Bible, through our feelings, or through other people. We do not know how Simeon heard the Spirit that day, or how Simeon recognised Jesus as the one he had been waiting for, but he did. The point is that he was close to God, and, like Simeon, if we expect to hear God’s voice, then we need to stay close to God too.
Trusting in God’s timing is easy to say but much more difficult to do. How can we be like Simeon and trust in God’s timing without being impatient or losing hope? Today, is there something you are waiting for? Offer it before God and commit to trusting in his timing.
Trusting in God’s timing is easy to say but much more difficult to do. How can we be like Simeon and trust in God’s timing without being impatient or losing hope?
Pray
Holy God
I will trust in your timing,
both for myself and the situations I am facing.
Help me be sensitive to your Holy Spirit,
that I might hear your voice,
and follow your will for my life.
This day and for ever.
and then