The Christmas story has been told and retold. The major figure, obviously, is the baby Jesus. Then there’s Mary, the mother of our Lord, and Joseph, her considerate husband, whose faith must have been challenged when he found out that the woman he was engaged to was pregnant.

Then there were the shepherds, who heard that announcement, “To you is born a Savior, Jesus.” A while later—they weren’t at the stable like in the nativity scenes at Radio City Music Hall—the wise men came bearing gifts, guided by a star.

But there are some side figures in the Christmas story. Today I want to focus on one of those: an old man named Simeon.

After the baby was born, his parents brought Him to the temple to be circumcised and to receive his name—Jesus, which means “deliverer.” They came to be blessed, but oh, something else happened that day as well.

“There was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25). In other words, Simeon was waiting for the One God had promised. He was living by faith that God would do what He had promised and send a Messiah.

A lot of people have no time for the promises in the Bible. “I’ve got a life to live,” they think. But Simeon’s heart was with the Lord, and he was steeped in the promises of the Bible, like Isaiah 7:14: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

Not only that, but the Lord had also revealed to Simeon through the Spirit, “You’re not going to die until you see that baby—the One you’re hoping for.” That was a special promise made to him.

So Simeon believed. And he was waiting.

Now look at God’s timing. One day, when Simeon was old, he was moved upon by the Spirit: “Go to the temple.” So he obeyed—and it was at that very moment that Mary and Joseph came in to do their ritual according to the law.

So Simeon took the baby in his arms, and he praised God: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation” (Luke 2:29–30). He was saying, “Praise God, You did what You promised. Now I can die. It’s been fulfilled that I held the Savior.”

What does this have to do with us?

Simeon was one of those faithful people who kept his eyes on the Lord and believed in God’s promises. He didn’t rely on social media. He didn’t check the Internet or go by TikTok. He went by the Bible.

And God was watching all the time.

Did you know that every time we open the Bible, God is watching? Every time we pray, God sees, and He says, “Oh, you’re going by what I said! You trust that what I said is true. I’m going to honor you for that.”

Here’s the challenge for all of us today: Why don’t we be like Simeon this Christmas? Why don’t we take some of God’s promises and not only believe, but believe and wait with expectation?

Don’t you think that Satan tried to discourage Simeon? “You old fool. You’re hanging on and believing what? The Messiah’s coming? Has He come yet? No. Give it up.”

Satan does that to us too. “Look, it’s the here and now that’s important. Come on, live in the real world.” But God is saying to us, “No. Live in My world, which is the real world.”

Today let’s fill ourselves with the Word of God and choose to believe it like Simeon did. Whatever we need, God’s got it all under control.

Prayer:

Lord, like Simeon, we believe that Your Word is unchangeable. We can lean our whole weight upon it, and it will never fail us. Thank You. Amen.