Have you ever waited for something so long, that you almost gave up hope that you would see it in your lifetime? Maybe it is a prodigal child you are waiting to return to the Lord, or a broken relationship you are longing to see mended. When waiting is long it’s easy to give up hope; to quit praying.

Today we read about someone who waited their entire life to see the silence lifted; to witness God comforting his people Israel again with the coming of the Messiah promised by the prophets. He had come to the end of his life and was yet to see it fulfilled. Like so many who had gone before him, who died without seeing Isaiah 40:1 being fulfilled, he wondered if his time would pass before the time came. “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.” The double dose of comfort promised to the people of God through his coming salvation, was it ever going to arrive?

Remember: Luke 2:22-32

And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” - Luke 2:22-32

The word consolation means ‘comfort’ and carries legal undertones. It’s closely related to the idea for the Holy Spirit (our “Helper”). Picture an infant crying and the mother steps in and consoles the child by nursing or soothing the baby; that is the image we see in the word consolation. As Jesus undergoes circumcision to fulfill the law; Mary steps in to console the baby after experiencing this painful step of obedience. Consolation, is God stepping in to comfort His people by fulfilling His promise of sending the Messiah.

Simeon waited for this comfort. A comfort that would stand up in God’s court. A legal advocate for our miserable state of sin. This is more than a worldly comfort found in earthly soothing tactics. It’s a comfort that our souls long for. A comfort only the Messiah can bring.

Reflect

Do you look for comfort to come from God? Do you wait for and anticipate it? Or do you seriously doubt he will ever come through for you? Wouldn’t it be nice to receive some kind of divine revelation assuring you that you would surely see this comfort (directly connected to your season of waiting) like Simeon did? Even if we don’t experience healing on this side of eternity, we have the hope that Christ will come a second time to bring eternal comfort, this is the consolation we now wait for.

In the waiting, we have this sweet gift of the God of all comfort who comforts us first by his Helper, the Holy Spirit and second by those who have received comfort themselves to then pass that comfort along to each other, filling in the gaps until he returns.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

The word comfort appears five times in these verses. This comfort gives us sight when silence blinds us. It opens our eyes to the future hope when our waiting feels endless and bleak. This comfort flows from God (God of ALL comfort) to us and spills on to others who so desperately need to be comforted. This is the sight we need in the silence.

Respond

Carry this breath prayer in your heart today:

Breathe In:

Jesus, I wait for your comfort

Breathe Out:

So that I can comfort others.

The Journey

This journey will take us through December 25th. My hope is that it would bring you encouragement in whatever waiting room you find yourself in during this Advent season. Each daily podcast will be short and sweet, leaving you with something to carry in your heart as you wait. You can also subscribe to my newsletter here.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rootedwithrachel.substack.com