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And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
_Luke 2:25
My dear Illinois Church of God,
When was the last time someone called you to excitedly inform you that they were waiting. Or how about your pastor’s last vision casting message…
I can hear him now.
“This year my vision for the church is to wait! We are going to gather each Sunday and wait. I want you to go to your homes and schools and place of work and commerce and…. wait.”
If that was your pastor’s gameplan for bettering your life, family, and community I suspect you’d be looking for the number of the State Office.
Waiting is not something we celebrate. Matter of fact, we mostly despise waiting.
Speaking of sermons, there’s nothing more tedious than waiting for one of your pastor’s less than sterling sermons to be over. Of course, if you think it’s tedious for you, you ought to be the one trying to finish it! (Trust me, I’ve been on both sides of the equation, and I’d much rather be sitting in pew than standing behind the pulpit.)
But whether its waiting for a sermon to be over or a traffic light to turn or waiting for your turn in line, it’s important to remember that waiting is different, much different, than doing nothing. Waiting is always about something more. When you wait, you’re waiting for something, which is far different than loafing around with no goal, no plan, or no desire for improvement.
Simeon is a good example.
The Bible describes him as a devout and just man. Why would he be doing that. Why not go with the flow. Israel was in a bad place at that time. Dominated by a foreign power with its religion, values, and practices being forced upon them. What was the use? Why go to church? Why try to do right when society could care less? That’s easy, Simeon was waiting…waiting with hope…waiting for the consolation of Israel. And that hope kept him going.
His waiting was not loafing or just doing time. His waiting was about expectation and that brought out the best in him.
I thought of the precious congregations and dedicated pastors here in Illinois when I read about Simeon. Honestly, things are tough right now for many of you. We live chaotic times. It seems we are dominated by a foreign power and the values and practices of the day have little resemblance to how our Bibles teach us to live.
But ILCOG keep waiting! God is not finished. There is hope of better days. Compared to your past, your numbers and resources may be like the size of a man’s hand…but showers of blessing, fulfilled promises and provision will soon be breaking over your head…believe this and let it guide your actions to be a devout, just and hopeful people in your communities and in our state.
And one more thing.
Did you catch all that Luke said about Simeon?
He wrote, “this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
My dear brothers and sisters, that describes us. One of our core values and identifications is that we are a Pentecostal Church. We were birthed over a century ago in a Pentecostal revival, and I truly believe God has not lifted His Spirit from us. Embrace that, count on that, proclaim that…and God will be faithful.
Hopefully waiting,
David L. Kemp
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