“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 2:27–32, NIV84)

In our relationship with God, when is enough? When do we have enough evidence? When has He proved Himself satisfactorily? We seem to be living in the most skeptical time in human history. We don’t seem to trust or believe in anything. Today’s society would find itself a non-participant in the pursuit of truth because for many people there is no such thing.

In contrast, we look at Simeon. By the time Jesus was born Simeon was an old man. He was a strong believer in God. God had assured him that he would see the promised Messiah in his lifetime. Moved by the Spirit of God, Simeon went to the temple on the same day that Jesus was brought to the temple to be circumcised. Simeon looked down at the 8-day-old child Jesus and proclaimed to God that he could now depart in peace. For Simeon, that was enough. But how could that be? Simeon, didn’t you want more evidence? Didn’t you want to see Him grow up? Didn’t you need to hear Him teach and see Him perform miracles? How could looking down at that baby be enough? Didn’t you want more proof? Why didn’t you demand from God to live long enough to see Jesus’ death and resurrection?

The answer to those questions lies in the first six words that Simeon spoke: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised.” Faith clings to two facts about God at all times. First, He is sovereign. God reigns over all things. Second, He is a promise keeper. If God says it, it will come to be. It is those two attributes of God that Simeon held on to. When he looked down at that 8-day-old child he saw God’s sovereign faithfulness. You see, all we have to do is experience God’s faithfulness once, and we can be certain He will be faithful in all things. But the good news is that we, like Simeon, don’t only experience God’s faithfulness once. We experience a lifetime of God’s sovereign faithfulness.

So today, let’s push doubt and skepticism aside, and let’s trust in our Sovereign Lord.

Peace!

Pastor Tom

www.firmlyrooted.church