Preparing for Easter Devotion (Day 1) - Holding Onto Hope

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.”

 Luke 2:25-32 

Devout Jews had been waiting for the Messiah for centuries. Simeon, a righteous man of God, was especially eager for the Messiah to come because he wanted to see Israel escape from Roman oppressors and be restored...he wanted to see God's plan of salvation in action, before His very eyes, as God had promised him. Led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple. The Messiah would be there that day! The Holy Spirit had told him!

Imagine him scanning the crowds. Who would be the new king of Israel? Suddenly his eyes rested on an unlikely family - a peasant man with his teenage wife, holding their infant son. They were even too poor to give anything but a peasant's dedication to the Lord, offering two pigeons instead of the usual lamb. Yet Simeon swept this baby into his arms and blessed the Lord for sending the Messiah. 

The moment Simeon looked into Jesus' face was the most important moment of his life. He could rest in peace. He had seen salvation, not only for himself, but for all the world. 

Simeon held the hope of the world in his arms that day, but we have the same promise as Simeon. If we follow the Spirit, we will find the hope of the world too. The moment we look into Jesus' face is the most important of our lives, when our eyes have seen God's salvation and we know that we can rest forever in the peace of God. 

Prayer: Lord, thank You for showing me Your salvation. Thank You for Jesus, the Messiah of Israel, my Messiah, the hope of the world. Help me to put my hope in Him each and every day of my life. Help me to realize that like Simeon, I hold the hope of the world. May I share that hope with others this day. In Jesus holy and precious name I pray, Amen.  

** This devotion was taken from The Sanctuary for Lent 2016 by Sue Mink