Waiting Lessons from Simeon and Anna

Today is the Feast of the Presentation and today we meet two people who waited a long time for the fulfillment of God’s promise that they would see their Savior: Simeon and Anna. They are an inspiration and model for those of us who’ve had to wait a long time for God to deliver a promise in our lives. 

It may surprise you to know that I’ve waited on some of God’s promises for going on 16 years and wonder when I will finally see them fulfilled in my life. I often say that if my life is nothing more, it is a witness to waiting on the promises of God and not turning away.

During waiting, there are seasons of despair, discouragement, and desert-like spiritual feelings on this journey and it’s not always easy spiritually to navigate waiting while still remaining faithful and not falling away. It is a true test of faith and belief in God’s promises – that what He said will come true.

Today we don’t necessarily hear about those situations, but you can see them evident in other stories of the Bible like Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Rebecca, Hannah and Samuel, and people in the Gospels who waited years to be healed. There are plenty of God’s people who waited, and waited a long time to receive what they hoped for. They often reacted in very human ways like we all do today.

Instead, today we learn from Simeon and Anna four lessons of waiting in the Spirit which can help us on the waiting journey.

1. Hope. In a long waiting journey, there is a temptation to doubt and lose hope periodically – if not constantly. Remaining in hope is key to staying close to God during this time and not falling away in despair and discouragement. I have found that even when I get discouraged or have a setback, God stirs my hope again and again in some way. But I have to be on the lookout for and open to that hope.
2. Worship. That means praising God in the good, bad, and ugly of waiting times. Going to mass, singing prayers or praise, praying Liturgy of the Hours, and going to Eucharistic Adoration are all forms of worship. It’s not always easy to do that when you’re waiting on God, but it helps raise your spirit continually to Him. Praise opens our hearts and helps keep them open vs. closed.
3. Fasting. This one has been a relatively new learning for me, but often, in the waiting journey, God may ask us to fast from something. It may be that this fasting will prepare and make room in our hearts for what God wants to give us, or form our hearts in more sacrificial ways for His call. There also may be something penitential that God is looking for during your season of waiting.
4. Prayer. Continuing to pray is difficult when you’ve been waiting so long and haven’t received the outcome you desire. But prayer keeps us persistently asking for God’s promises to be fulfilled in our lives and helps keep the conversation with God open so that He can work His wonders eventually. It keeps Him in our lives and shows perseverence.

If, like me, you’ve been waiting on God’s promises for longer than you’ve wanted, perhaps we can learn a few lessons today about how to wait gracefully, hopefully, and prayerfully like Simeon and Anna. They're my inspiration and I hope yours as well!