Waiting on God

I'm pretty sure I can speak for everyone when I say we all hate waiting. Waiting in line at the store? No. Waiting a few days to get something in the mail from Amazon? No, thank you. Waiting five minutes for that cute someone to answer your text? Heck no. Waiting (at least) a month to see results from dieting? Hahahahaha, nope. In today's world, we've all been trained to demand immediate gratification and nothing less. If something takes more than 20 seconds to download, we don't want any part of it. Be honest here, we all get pretty annoyed when our wifi isn't working fast enough to download the next episode of our favorite show on Netflix. People have become accustomed to getting what we want and getting it right now, but unfortunately for all of us who are so fond of living like that, life doesn't work that way... and it never will.

A couple Sundays ago, crazy Catholics (I'm allowed to say crazy Catholic because I am one, alright?) all over the world celebrated the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. It seems like a really random and irrelevant event in the life of Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior of all mankind, but bear with me when I say it's actually a pretty powerful moment (and it totally relates to what I was just saying, I promise you). In order to help draw a more complete picture of exactly what this "presentation of our Lord" means, I'm going to throw a little Sacred Scripture in the mix, because you can never go wrong with God's word!

When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

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 on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 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 may now dismiss your servant in peace.

For my eyes have seen your salvation,

which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:

a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and the glory of your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him. -Luke 2:22-40

If you don't mind, I am going to try to explain this story a little further (if you DO mind, I'm sorry my blog doesn't suit your fancy). First, there was probably a lot of baby boys in the temple that day. It was a part of the Jewish Law to bring your new born son to the temple to be consecrated to God, so I think it's safe to say that Mary and Joseph weren't the only couple with a precious little baby in their arms. And from what I understand about Jesus coming to dwell among us, he looked just like every other crying kid in that place. There was no glorious spot light or neon sign to key people in that, HEY THIS ONE RIGHT HERE IS THE SON OF GOD. So how exactly did Simeon recognize Christ...? Second, it's important to take into consideration just how old this Simeon fella was. Luke doesn't give us an exact age like he does when he speaks of Anna, but it's pretty clear that he was pretty much waiting for God to take him at any time ("you may now dismiss your servant in peace"). This guy was waiting to see Jesus for a lonnnnng time. It could have been so easy for him to just throw in the towel and tell God that he was done sitting around waiting for this Messiah to show up, but he kept the faith because he knew that God is who He says He is.

To draw a parallel that's a little more tangible, think of the moment at a wedding where the groom sees his bride walk through the doors at the back of the church... wow. (If you feel like getting emotional, here you go, http://www.pinterest.com/prettypearbride/grooms-reaction/) He had to wait so long for that moment, through dating, through an engagement, through the stress of planning the wedding... but that troublesome waiting doesn't matter anymore when he sees her. He held on to the promise between them that they would be married soon to get him through the months leading to their wedding day. He spent his time longing for her. His heart is ready for his bride, and there she is. Wow.

Waiting in hope prepares your heart for something greater.Waiting is hard, but the longer you wait for something, the more beautiful the moment is when it arrives. Can you imagine the glory in the moment when Simeon laid his eyes on Christ? Seriously, just think about that... wow. His heart must have burst with joy! Like I mentioned, there was no sign on baby Jesus saying "I AM WHO AM", but Simeon still knew who He was. His heart was so open and obedient to the will of God that he was actually prepared to see the Messiah. 

I don't know about you, but I really long for that wow moment. I haven't the slightest clue where God is leading me in life, and as much as I would love to know His plan, I have to wait for it to be revealed more clearly to me. I really want to know what my vocation is and where I'm going to spend the rest of my life, but He knows that my heart isn't ready for those things just yet. Waiting on God's timing can be really difficult and frustrating and it can sometimes seem really pointless, but I hold onto the hope of knowing that when the time comes, He will not disappoint. There are desires on my heart that I have no doubt will be filled, but only in Christ's time, not my own. I have faith that the wow moment in my life will be everything I've been waiting for, and that helps me find peace while I wait. 

So here's the question, are you willing to wait for God? Or are you going to allow the things of this world to harden your heart? Be like Simeon! Hold onto hope and allow Him to prepare your heart for that wow moment. I promise He will not disappoint. I'm praying for you! Be His!