As much as we dislike waiting, we actually can learn so much through the process. We live in a "I want it, and I want it now" society, but that is not the way God works. Read through His word and you will realize that when God calls His servants there is a time of waiting, or preparing before the call/promise is fulfilled.
The other day as I spent time with God, I was reading in Luke chapter 2. Yes, at this time of year, I usually find my way to this very familiar passage. But this year my eyes fell on a group of verses that usually don't get a lot of mention during the Christmas season - Luke 2:25-35. I have read these verses many times through the years, and was amazed again when I read them last week.
God gave Simeon a promise - he would see the Messiah before he died. But when God gave the promise, Simeon didn't know when it would be fulfilled. The Bible doesn't say, but I imagine Simeon went to the temple regularly, maybe even daily, to worship God. In his faithfulness to worshiping and serving God, he was in the right place at the right time to receive God's promise - seeing Jesus!
The Bible also doesn't say how long Simeon had to faithfully wait. I wonder if some days he thought it was all pointless because it was taking so long to receive the promise. Yet, he continued to go the temple and to worship God. He remained faithful to God even in the waiting. What if Simeon had woken up that morning and decided he was too tired to go to the temple again?!?!? Or what if he decided there was something more exciting for him to do that day instead of visiting the temple? Simeon would have missed meeting Jesus. He would have missed receiving God's promise! What an example of faithfulness for us to follow. Simeon faithfully waited for God to bring His call to reality, in His perfect timing.
"Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass." 1 Thessalonians 5:24
