Waiting for the Saviorနမူနာ

## Waiting faithfully: Anna Do you remember waking up on Christmas Day when you were a kid and running downstairs to see if Santa really brought you the one thing you wanted most? Maybe it was a brand-new bike or the Polly pocket designer house! The feeling of opening that one gift and seeing what you’ve been waiting for is unmatched. But the disappointment if it wasn’t there could also lead to a lot of sadness. Sometimes expectation is best described as the convergence between an intense desire & a confident hope for the things to come. For centuries the Jewish people had waited in expectation of the coming Messiah. They had believed, hoped, and prayed, but still found themselves waiting year after year. Anna was a faithful woman of God. Scripture tells us that even though she was a widow and very old, she never left the temple. She lived every moment in the presence of God, waiting faithfully for the redemption of mankind. She waited in expectation until the day the promise met humanity, the first Christmas, when the Savior of the World was born in the small town of Bethlehem. Her faithfulness kept her in the exact place she needed to be to encounter the answer to her prayer. Have you ever hoped for something that still hasn’t happened, but you find yourself debating between giving up or holding on? Maybe it’s in a job, relationship, or a dream. Whatever it may be, there are few things as challenging as waiting on a miracle, a move of God, or an answer to a prayer. Just like Anna, this is a season of waiting faithfully. This is the moment to plant yourself in the presence of God so that with every breath you are filled with expectant hope of what God will do next. Just like Anna, faithfully in the presence of God, let us not rush through the waiting season, but instead allow it to teach us to long for the Lord. Psalm 84 says, “my soul yearns” for the presence of the Lord. May this season of waiting and expectation give you space and opportunity to yearn for the presence of God. And just like Anna in the Temple of the Lord when she caught sight of Jesus, the glorious Messiah, you will also experience the fulfillment of the promises for your life. He’s just getting started!