Day 12: Peace in the End
Read: Luke 2:22-32
Have you ever had a moment where God clearly presented something to you? Maybe you walked out of a job interview and knew you landed the position, or you spent a large amount of time on a paper that you knew would get you an “A” on.
Maybe there was something more drastic you had hoped for that God gave you complete peace about. This was the case for Simeon. While these verses do not share much about Simeon, we know that he was a righteous and devout man “awaiting the consolation of Israel.”
Jesus’s birth for Israel was what Simeon had been waiting for. It was the saving of Israel from Rome. They viewed Jesus as the King who would come to overthrow the Roman government. He was the knight in shining armor that would give them freedom and peace.
There have been many times over the last few years where I’ve prayed over certain emotions or pain. I wanted the disappointment of different incidents to be over quickly. I wanted to stop feeling pain. When I stopped worrying about not feeling pain and started praying for peace and realized that I would model Christ regardless of pain, my perspective changed.
There are, fortunately, things that we must endure to see God more clearly. God doesn’t allow these to punish us, but to make us more like Him. And thankfully, He sent His son down to model such a life to us.
When Simeon saw Jesus, he remembered God’s promise to him. In Luke 2:29, Simeon declares peace. He was promised that he would see Christ before he died, and He did. Simeon did not, at least from what is shared in this passage, allow himself to get too wrapped up in maybe’s. He allowed himself to lean into what was sure and promised by God and was able to “depart in peace.”
When we follow God and obey Him, He promises us peace. I believe God is less concerned about making life easy and more concerned about changing our hearts and the way we look at the difficulties of life. That is what brings a peace that allows us to truly depart in peace.
What in your life do you need to pray for peace for? Pray to God and remember that He promises peace to those who follow Him (Psalm 85:8). It is at times difficult to believe that, but if you hand it over to God, you will have the peace you long for.