In faith and obedience. Luke 2.36-40
Luke 2 (5)
We’re celebrating the birth and early years of Jesus this week. Our current Scriptorium series will return on Monday. Have a blessed Christmas.
Pray Psalm 55.16-18.
As for me, I will call upon God,
And the LORD shall save me.
Evening and morning and at noon
I will pray, and cry aloud,
And He shall hear my voice.
He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me,
For there were many against me.
Sing Psalm 55.16-19.
(Bread of Life: Break Thou the Bread of Life)
Lord, I will call on You, answer and save!
Noon, morning, evening too, my voice I raise.
Grant me Your peace, O Lord; answer my foes!
All who reject God’s Word He overthrows.
Read Luke 2.1-40; meditate on verses 36-40.
Preparation
1. How did Anna serve God?
2. What did Jesus do in Nazareth?
Meditation
These days we are inclined to think of works of ministry in superstar proportions: big churches, large ministries, well-known evangelists, popular speakers or writers, that kind of stuff. Or even the ministry of our pastor and church leaders. These are the real ministers, the important servants of the Lord.
But then there’s Anna. For years, all she could do was come to the temple, fast, and pray – night and day. Was John Milton thinking of Anna when he wrote, upon becoming blind, “They also serve who only stand and wait”? Anna’s ministry was sufficiently pleasing to the Lord that He allowed her to see Jesus before she died. And not just to see Him, but to proclaim Him “to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.”
In his book, Finishing Our Course with Joy, J. I. Packer encouraged all believers, but especially those who have entered the third third of life, to believe that they can always learn something more about Jesus and always lead or serve others in His Name. Anna is the poster child for such a view of Christian life. Together with Simeon, these two “Old Testament saints” teach us to make good use of the time God gives us for seeking Him and His Kingdom by waiting on the Lord patiently for the promises of His Word.
And speaking of waiting, what must those years in Nazareth have been like for Joseph, Mary, and Jesus? They all knew Who He was and that the promised redemption of God was on His shoulders. But they would have to wait, albeit not without purpose. They invested their waiting in helping Jesus become “strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God [increasing] upon Him.”
Waiting on the Lord is the most important ministry any of us can do, and we are all called to it, day by day
(Ps. 27.14). Through prayer, fasting, longing for His promises, and telling others about Him, we also can become stronger in spirit, wisdom, and grace, as we stand in our faith and wait for the Lord in all we do.
Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
There is something to be said for living according to God’s plan, because God blesses those who do. Not with health or wealth, but with the gift of His Son.
Look at the people God used to unfold this part of His story:
Zacharias and Elizabeth “were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless” (Lk. 1.6) Mary, who was “highly favored” and as the angel noted, “the Lord is with you” (Lk. 1.28). Simeon was “just and devout” and “the Holy Spirit was upon him” (Lk. 2.25); and Anna “served God with fastings and prayers night and day” (Lk. 2.37).
Solomon wrote wise sayings about how to become people like these in whom God delights:
“Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the LORD,
but the blameless in their ways are His delight” (Prov. 11.20) Blameless. (Eph. 1.3-6)
“Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD,
but those who deal truthfully are His delight” (Prov. 12.22). Truthful. (Ps. 51.6)
“The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD,
but the prayer of the upright is His delight.” Faithful in prayer. (1 Thess. 5.17)
“The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD,
but He loves him who follows righteousness” (Prov. 15.8, 9). Doing righteousness. (Ex. 20.1-17)
We long to be people whom God can use for His purposes to promote His Kingdom and His will on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6.10). So, naturally, we will want to stay always within the boundaries where God’s love can reach and bless us (Jude 21 TLB). That means walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless; striving adamantly to be just and devout; and spending our time in God’s Word and in prayer—our fondest delight being in this Law in which we meditate day and night (Ps. 1.2).
Zacharias, Elizabeth, Mary, Simeon, and Anna were all ordinary people used in extraordinary ways because of the relationship that they cherished with God and His Law. We are ordinary folk who long to be used in extraordinary ways to prepare His ways, and to give the knowledge of salvation to His people (Lk. 1.77), and like Anna, to speak about Jesus to all those who look for redemption in Him (Lk. 2.38).
“Through prayer, fasting, longing for His promises, and telling others about Him, we also can become stronger in spirit, wisdom, and grace, as we stand in our faith and wait for the Lord in all we do.”
People living according to God’s plan.
For reflection
1. How do you expect God to use you in extraordinary ways today?
2. What are you doing to prepare for God to use you like this?
3. Whom will you encourage today to trust the Lord for grace to help in all their times of need?
Anna always dwelt in, or at least attended at, the temple. She was always in a praying spirit; gave herself to prayer, and in all things she served God. Those to whom Christ is made known, have great reason to thank the Lord. She taught others concerning him. Let the example of the venerable saints, Simeon and Anna, give courage to those whose hoary heads are, like theirs, a crown of glory, being found in the way of righteousness. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Luke 2.36-40
Pray Psalm 55.1-3, 20-23.
What burdens are you carrying? What challenges lie ahead for this day? Give them to the Lord. Commit yourself and your day to Him in prayer, and thank Him in advance for the knowledge that He will guard and sustain you and keep you to Himself.
Sing Psalm 55.1-3, 20-23.
(Bread of Life: Break Thou the Bread of Life)
Hear now my prayer, O Lord, hide not from me.
Answer me by Your Word and set me free!
Wicked men sore oppress; restless am I.
Lord, ease my soul’s distress and hear my cry!
Many assail, O Lord, many betray.
See how they draw their sword across my way.
Take up my burden, Lord; strengthen and bless!
Let judgment by Your Word their souls distress.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Jesus brought the joy of the Lord when He came to dwell among us. Now He has appointed us to proclaim that joy to our world. Our little book, Joy to Your World!, can help you do just that. Learn more and order your copy by clicking here.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
