Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)
During this past Sunday's sermon Pastor Sam shared (paraphrased here) that frustration is even more intense when we look for something that does not materialize; but our hope in God never makes us ashamed. Perhaps we might adopt this statement as a proverb of encouragement.
Where is our focus today? Is it directed towards the pain of searching for what we do not yet see, or is it fixed on the hope we have in God?
Our pastor noted that Simeon, at the prompting of the Holy Spirit, went into the temple courts on the day that Mary and Joseph arrived to offer the sacrifice required for a first-born son (see Luke 2:27-28). Because the Spirit of God had to tell Simeon to go into the temple courts, it seems that Simeon was not spending every day wandering through the temple courts looking for the Messiah. Rather, it seems that Simeon, a man filled with the Spirit of God, was content to live his life waiting on God.
I wonder if we who call ourselves Spirit-filled Christians are content to simply wait on God in hope, or if we instead have become consumed with an anxious looking for God's promise to materialize:
-God, You told me such-and such, so long ago, but I don't see the thing yet.
-God, You promised me peace but I feel like I'm drowning in chaos.
-God, they have rejected You for so many years; they're so far gone: is it too late for them?
How do we trade our frustrations for hope? Luke 2 gives us a clue in the life of Simeon: "It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah." (Luke 2:26)
Simeon did not worship the promise; he worshiped the Lord. The canon does not record Simeon as a man who nagged God about issues of time or space or place. Because the Holy Spirit was on Simeon (see Luke 2:25), Simeon was empowered to wait.
In the Old Testament we have record of a famous couple who seemed to err on the side of worshiping the promise. Abram and Sarai, in their longing to see God's promise fulfilled, made the assumption that God was not able to handle the issues of time, space, or place. Abram did not understand God's ability to save, so he twisted the truth about his marriage covenant with Sarai, twice, in attempts to "save" his own life. Sarai did not understand God's ability to perform creative miracles, and canon gives testimony of two of her errors: stepping out of God's covenant promise by giving Abraham her slave Hagar to bear a child, and laughing in disbelief when she heard God's messengers reiterate His promise that she would bear a child in her old age. (See Genesis chapters 12, 16, 17, 18, and 20)
Do you know that anxiety can affect us just as profoundly as it did Abram and Sarai? Have you ever wanted to make your own way? Have you ever wanted to take matters into your own hands? Resist the temptation. God doesn't have a problem with time. And God doesn't have a problem with space or place. Knock on the door of the Advent narrative. Ask for a young lady named Mary. Ask for a man named Simeon. They will tell you that the hope of God will not put you to shame. They will tell you that the promise of God is worth the wait and the pain and the suffering.
We have an opportunity to embrace this hope. Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene will soon be starting an extended season of fasting and prayer. We are scheduled to begin the new year with a forty-day fast, and then in the period of Lent we will have another forty-day period (excluding the Sundays) to turn our plates down and seek the Lord. As we wait on the Lord and hear the gentle promptings of His Spirit in us, we can expect to be encouraged in hope and empowered by His love.
The Holy Spirit has invited you to His trading post. Are you ready to trade your frustrations for His hope?
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