It was just a promise delivered long ago
A handful of words of something to come
Time comes and times goes but a promise
Is a promise: God keeps His promises
Not matter how long it takes.

In those days, there was a faithful man named Simeon. God had promised him through the Holy Spirit that he will not see death until his eyes have seen the Hope of Israel, the Light of the world (Luke 2). Only God knows how long ago that promise was made and this man grew old. I can imagine conditions of old age began to show up, yet he waited for the promise. He might have had some near misses, “Almost died” experiences but He would remember the promise. He knew that no matter how fatal the condition seemed, it was not yet his end because he had not experienced the promise. Like Abraham, He waited in hope. He did not surrender this hope to old age and associated physically derailing conditions.

While he was waiting one day, “Something” moved him to go into the temple. That very day, that very moment, and that very step of obedience “coincided” with the time baby Jesus was brought into the temple by his parents for dedication, in line with Jewish laws. When the Spirit moved Him to go into the temple, he had no idea what he was walking into. That step of obedience brought him into the full experience of a promise he had waited for so long. In a twinkle of an eye, he was holding the very promise that may have seemed to take forever to be fulfilled. In an instant, this godly man was living the time of His life, holding God manifested as a baby in his frail arms.

As soon as he saw that baby, he knew it! How he knew? The same way the Holy Spirit who delivered the promise to Him years ago moved him to go into the temple at that particular time. Nothing is impossible with God! Nothing is a coincidence for anyone who has surrendered their life to God. He orders the steps of the righteous and nothing suddenly happens to them. To everyone else, it may seem like it happened suddenly but to the one who has waited for all those years, who refused to let that hope die in the place of waiting, who looked to God even in the face of seeming impossibility of the promise being accomplished, who continued in obedience until the very hour of fulfilment, there is nothing sudden about that accomplishment.

When people don’t know your story, your success is sudden to them. To those who don’t know where you are coming from, your new destination is a surprise. They are shocked that you landed such an opportunity. They are amazed that you were privileged to experience what you are enjoying. They are baffled that you can do what you just accomplished. Why? Because they were not there when the promised was delivered. They have no idea how you have lived through the years, hoping against hope for what seemed impossible and refusing to give it up. They have no idea how you have been prompted by the Spirit and how your obedience has led you one step at a time to where you are now. All they see is now and they marvel but you know it didn’t just happen – you know where you are coming from, and you know how far you have traveled to be where you are. And it all comes together because God is a promise Keeper.
(To be continued)

Blessings
Glory!