Advent Daily Devotional: December 21

December 21 by Randy Lind

Reading: Luke 2:27-32

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^[a] 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.”

A Season of Waiting

Have you ever waited for a long time for something? You wait, and wait, and it seems like it will never get here? For some of us, especially children, it seems as if Christmas time will never arrive. No matter what, it can’t get here soon enough.

In my house we play Christmas music all year round. Partly because I love all kinds of music—Christmas included—and partly because I’m usually think about the next Christmas season. When my two boys were younger, they thought Christmas was around the of summer because that is when I started listening to music to plan Christmas for our church! Believe me, it was a long time for them to wait for the Christmas season to arrive. However, when it did arrive, the season seemed a little sweeter—a little more exciting because they had been anticipating it for so long.

The Scripture listed above tells us about a special time in Jesus’ life. It was a time when Jesus was to be presented at the temple. However, there was a man that had a simple prayer to God that he had prayed for years. The man, Simeon, who was a “righteous and devout” man, prayed that he would see the Messiah. He had waited, and waited—but, this was the year!  The Holy Spirit revealed to Simeon that Jesus was the Messiah!  After all of the years – all of the prayers, Simeon’s prayer had come true!  Here is what Simeon prayed when as he held Jesus in his arms: “I have seen the Savior you have given to all people.  He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!”

This Christmas season, all of look forward to celebrating with family and friends. Let’s also celebrate this very Savior who came to be a light to our world as well. As we wait….as we anticipate….as we plan for this season, let us all pray the same prayer as Simeon—that we are able to see Jesus as the Savior God has given to us.