"Sovereign Lord, as You have promised, You now dismiss Your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to Your people Israel." (Luke 2:29-32)
I am so thankful for the Lord's precious timing. I have had this particular post on my mind for several weeks now. For some reason, I have not been able to completely transcribe what has been on my heart regarding this subject matter. Each time I sat down to complete the post, my heart was overcome with heaviness. I would then become frustrated due to my lack of words and put the post aside. I then did all I knew to do - Prayed for God to sort out in my heart whatever it was that was hindering this post from being completed. So very passionate about this particular thing, that I did not know where in the world to begin.
Over a month ago in small group Bible study, a friend of mine raised a question. It went something like this: Do you think God still gives us insight into our futures? What she was asking, in so many words, is not whether our God is a fortune teller, but whether He is still into the details of our lives. Does He truly call us to believe Him for something specific in our lives, only to fulfill that very thing we have believed Him for? My dear friend wanted to be assured that her God was still capable of leading her, of speaking to her, and of carrying out His plan for her life. That the plan she felt certain He was revealing to her for her life, was indeed from Him. That it was not some fairy tale that she had conjured up in her imagination. That it was possible for Him to reveal Himself to her in such a way. And that it was biblically acceptable that she believed Him in such a way. How do we know when to believe God specifically for things in our own individual lives?
Do you see why I have not had the words on my own to type out this post? Some deep stuff, don't you agree? [Side note: It has taken me like 3 days just to get this far. See what I mean? The enemy better move out of this territory. There's someone reading today that he wants to keep from hearing this. And not because I have anything grand to say - I assure you, I do not - But because God's Word has something immensely important to say to us. And it's huge. And it's affecting how we live our lives every single day. Without us even knowing it.]
I love reading the story of Jesus' birth each Christmas season. When I flip open my rugged Bible to the gospel of Luke, I am never expecting the Lord to speak to me with such newness and revelation - however, year after year, He never ceases to do so. Each year there is something special for my heart to treasure. I, probably much like you, usually stop at Luke 2:20 when I read the Christmas story - "The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told." This year was a bit different. I chose to continue reading. And I am so glad I did. Because it was in Luke 2:21-32 where the rubber met the road for me. Where I had my "Aha!" moment. Where I realized exactly why God had not allowed me to complete this post that seemed to be roaming around unfinished in cyberspace. Because HE had something to say about all of this. He didn't want my words or opinions. He wanted to have the opportunity to sort this issue out for all of us. Through His Word. And how we praise Him for that - Because it is His Word and His Spirit that bring forth power into our lives.
In Luke 2:21-24, baby Jesus, at just eight days of age, is consecrated to the Lord. [According to the Law of the Lord (Numbers 3:13), each firstborn male was required to be consecrated to the Lord.] In order to hammer these few points in, I am going to type out the next several verses for you. I believe it is absolutely necessary for us to read this particular text:
"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 upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 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 now dismiss Your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to Your people Israel' " (Luke 2:25-32)
The Scripture above labels Simeon as righteous and devout (Lk. 2:25). He expressed much devotion to the Lord. His allegiance was clear. Simeon knew who he belonged to. And everyone else knew who Simeon served.
The latter part of verse 25 also points out that the Holy Spirit was upon Simeon. Simeon was a devotee of God Almighty. He walked with Him on a daily, hourly basis. He lived his life closely knit together with the One and Only. He desired to know God more with each passing minute. You could say, Simeon was abiding in God. Regardless of what happened in Simeon's surroundings, he had made a commitment to remain stable and fixed upon God. To abide in Him.
I would like to point out a few things before we move on. Ladies, we too can be Simeon's. The Lord Almighty is giving each and every one of us the opportunity to abide in Him. To make a commitment, regardless of our circumstances, to remain stable and fixed upon Him. To be continuous in the pursuit of our God. When we abide in Christ, His Holy Spirit will be upon us. And I can guarantee you this: The work of God will be more present and more active in our lives than ever before.
Luke 2:26 says that the Holy Spirit revealed to Simeon that he would not die before he had seen Jesus. Did you get that? The Holy Spirit revealed something to Simeon. The Holy Spirit still does that, y'all. In fact, it's one of the Holy Spirit's main functions ...
1 Corinthians 2:10 tells us that God reveals things to us by His Spirit. That passage goes on to say: "The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us" (1 Corinthians 2:10-12).
So, get this girls. Not only will the work of God be more present and active in our lives when we are abiding in Christ, but the Spirit of God will reveal the deep things of God to us! The Word of God is very clear that those who are in the Spirit understand the things of God and those who are not, cannot spiritually discern those very things. I tell you this for a reason. When you are called by God - either called by Him to accomplish a specific task, job, etc. or called to believe Him for something in your future - there will be skeptics. And I would even go so far to say that some of them will be other believers. And when that happens - We claim the following as Paul did: "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ" (Galatians 1:10). Which brings me to the next point ...
There are certain things that the Spirit of God reveals to us, that are meant to stay between us and the Lord. Things that we are not meant to share. #1) Because of the above. Human skepticism can completely cinch our belief in God. This is unfortunate, but too often the reality. #2) We have a biblical example of this. Galatians 1:15-16 says, "But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man." It's about time that we start living as if it is God's opinion that matters. First and foremost. Yes, praise Him that He does put spiritual counselors and advisers in our lives to help us to discern what is best in some situations. But in others, we are to rely on the Holy Spirit, who is our ultimate Counselor (John 14:26). And when the Holy Spirit is upon us girls, we will know when God is asking us to believe Him instead of consulting man. We're talking about the Kingdom of God here.
The next part of the Scripture in Luke just brings such joy to my soul. Verses 27-28 say: "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 ..." Simeon was moved by the Holy Spirit. Are you getting this?
Simeon invested in His relationship with God. The Holy Spirit came upon him and was actively working in Simeon's life. The Holy Spirit revealed to Simeon something specific regarding his own life. Simeon believed God to fulfill His call. The Holy Spirit moved Simeon - when it was time - to see God's promise fulfilled. Simeon praises God saying, "Sovereign Lord, as You have promised ..." (Luke 2:29).
Yes, yes, yes! Girls, this is true for our lives today. Replace the name Simeon with your name in the previous paragraph and praise Jesus for His faithfulness in your very own precious life. Because here is the thing: Our God still uses the Holy Spirit to reveal the things of God in our lives. Just as he did with Simeon. Does He do this for everyone? No. Is He willing to do this for everyone? Of course. But only a few will truly abide. Abide dear one, abide.
And here is the kicker: When God calls you to something, He is absolutely 100% NOT going to allow you to miss seeing the fulfillment of His promise. Can I get an AMEN?! Isn't that wonderful? The Holy Spirit moved Simeon to exactly where he needed to be at the exact time he needed to be there. The Spirit of God would not allow Simeon to miss God's fulfillment, God's plan for his life. And guess what? He's not going to allow us to miss it either. So we might as well keep on keepin' on. Keep on abiding. And keep on believing. And we will see the fulfillment. And just as it was for Simeon, it will be glorious for us.
God has something so wonderful in store for you. Believe Him. Just as Simeon did. Oh to see the Christ-child with our own eyes and touch Him with our own hands, that would be the greatest gift of all this Christmas, wouldn't it? But you know what - We can experience Him this Christmas, can't we? Because the Spirt of God ... Is alive and active.
Merry Christmas, sweet ones. I love loving Him with you. Have a total blast celebrating His birth this year.
"For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on His shoulders.
And He will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
~ Isaiah 9:6 ~
