It’s not a regular feature in your average Christmas play narrative, but it should be. His name was Simeon, and we can only find him in Luke’s gospel, chapter 2. History tells us that Simeon was righteous and devout, which basically means he took his faith seriously. The text also informs us that the Holy Spirit was upon him. In other words, he was a man who listened to God and was serious about following Him. The moving piece of the narrative is how much Simeon’s story teaches us about long-term faithfulness, which is something so needed in our day.
We see this in Luke’s description of Simeon as a man “waiting for the consolation of Israel,” which may not seem like much initially. However, when we pull the camera lens back and realize that Simeon is probably well advanced in age, his waiting is seen on a whole new level. On that day, Simeon, led by the Holy Spirit, met Mary and Joseph as they brought Jesus into the Temple courts. At that moment, it all came together for Simeon, and he recognized that this baby, Jesus, would be the world’s savior. In fulfilled joy, he praised God, proclaiming: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.” In short, the Holy Spirit told the old man that he would see the Messiah before his death, and Simeon trusted God and lived in this promise all his life. Now, he was ready to die in peace.
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.”
I wonder when it was that Simeon first heard the voice of God. I wonder how old he was when he first listened to his local Rabbi teaching the Old Testament Prophets in the synagogue. When did he place his hope in this God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who promised that someday the Messiah would come to set all things right? We don’t know those details. We also don’t know all the roadblocks to faith that came his way. Did his early friends, who had heard the same promises, tire of waiting and get on with life? As a younger man, did he marry a young woman who had now been dead for years as he waited alone, wondering when God was going to step into this side of eternity? We can only imagine these details of his personal story.
We do know that he held on. Maybe it was because he had so memorized and meditated on scripture that God’s word became embedded in his heart so that he was able to rise every morning with hope. It could be that, while he probably got knocked around in life like everyone else, he still deliberately recounted God’s blessings of the past. Whatever his strategy and spiritual rhythm were, he continued to get out of bed every morning and push forward. It’s not the sort of thing that makes the world news, but it’s the thing that real life is made of. It’s the faithfulness of men and women over the years that life is built on and that God sees and even honors.
“It’s not the sort of thing that makes the world news, but it’s the thing that real life is made of.”
It’s easy to get impatient; I’m a clear example. The time between chapters moves fast when we read the biblical historical narratives. But in real life, those verses and chapters were separated by weeks, months, years, even decades, and sometimes centuries. Genuine trust and waiting on God are proven in the long haul. 
Trusting God when we’re on a spiritual high, and we’ve experienced some recent miracle is one thing. It’s another thing to hold fast to God as we wait for Him to work out the bigger picture when life seems to move slowly on this side of eternity. The arrival of the Messiah came centuries after God’s promise to Abraham and all those before him and following. Galatians 4 tells us that God sent Christ in the “fullness of time” when His master plan was right for the arrival of Jesus. But God did keep his promise, and Simeon waited and was rewarded.
Genuine faith is built in our lives by staying in the game and not throwing in the towel. Real faith is demonstrated and passed on to those behind us. In thinking of the long game, I’m reminded of the cathedral, Notre Dame, which was reopened in Paris in 2024 after being repaired following profound vandalism. Originally, the cathedral took just over 180 years to build from start to finish. Imagine how father to son, grandson, and great-grandson worked on that project, knowing that someday their faithful efforts would pay off. Imagine the faithfulness of getting up every day and keeping the big picture in mind while they simply did the duty that was in front of them that day. There is glory in that.
“Genuine trust and waiting on God are proven in the long haul.”
From Simeon, we may not find a brave warrior like Joshua or King David. We may not see the scholastic power of the apostle Paul. But what we do find is a man who heard the promise of God and kept on track even when others fell to the side. That’s a bulldog tenacity of faith that will not let go of God’s promises no matter the temptations to do otherwise. That’s what genuine faith looks like.
God kept His word, and we see that in the first coming of Christ at Christmas. Simeon reminds us that God always keeps His word and thus we can trust Him for our salvation, provision, and eternal life. We can also trust Him in knowing that scripture will again be fulfilled on the day when Jesus returns to reward those who have been faithful to him in the long haul.
What is hindering your walk of faith today?
What can help your walk of faith today?
Whose faith can you encourage today?
“Nothing reflects so much honor on a workman as a trial of his work and its endurance of it. So it is with God. It honors Him when His saints preserve their integrity.” —Charles Spurgeon
For more from Steve, see Kingdomology.com.
