Devotion Booklets for Seasons of the Church Year Advent-Christmas Devotional - 2017 - single page | Page 35

What Are You Waiting For? Friday, December 29th Luke 2:29-32 What are you waiting for? It’s good to have something on the horizon. Something to look forward to. Maybe it’s a vacation. Maybe it’s a friend or relative coming to visit. Maybe it’s a basketball game or a concert. Simeon had something he was looking forward to. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit had told him that he would not die before he saw the “Lord’s Christ,” the promised Savior. We don’t know how old Simeon was. We don’t know how long he had been waiting. But finally, the day came. Moved by the Spirit, Simeon came face to face with the one he was waiting for. In fact, he came face to face with the one the whole world was waiting for – Jesus. Do you think it shocked Simeon when he met him? If I were Simeon, I might have expected something different. Someone who was rich and powerful – or at least old enough to walk! But through eyes of faith Simeon lifted Jesus up and spoke the words we know so well. He praised God that he kept his promise and sent the Savior of the world. Throughout our lives, there are a lot of things we look forward to. Trips come and go. Visits end. What is new becomes old. More than that, as life goes on we look forward to different kinds of things. What excites a child is different from what excites an adult and what one looks forward to, the other might not. But whether you are a child or an adult, there is always one thing on the horizon for us – heaven. This child that Simeon held in his arms died and rose to make it so. Prayer: Faithful Lord, you kept your promise to send a Savior for the world. Help us with eyes of faith to live our lives looking forward to the day when you dismiss us in peace and bring us to the place you’ve prepared to us in heaven. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. Activity: What are you looking forward to? Take a moment to give everyone the opportunity to list at least one thing they are looking forward to. Why are you looking forward to that? Is it hard to wait? 35