38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
There have been people in every age who sought the Lord. I have heard stories of people in very remote corners of the globe who began to seek the Lord and God opened the door for them to hear the Gospel. This seems especially true today in Muslim countries. God seems to be using dreams to speak to individual Muslims about the reality of Jesus. When I hear these accounts I stand in awe of the glory of God. Our passage today is about Anna. She knew God had a plan for Israel, that He was not finished, that there were promises that had not yet been fulfilled. She was waiting for those promises to be fulfilled. She knew the promises were connected to the Temple, so she waited and prayed. She spent her life after the death of her husband waiting for God’s intervention. What a wonderful ministry she must have had. It speaks to the power of older people who are involved in ministry on a volunteer basis. What a wonderful pool of talents, gifts and abilities that so often get wasted. She did not waste her later years. Notice what she was waiting for in our text: the redemption of Jerusalem. Jerusalem needed to be purchased! The sins of Israel and of humanity in general were connected to what God did in the city of Jerusalem. She knew God was getting ready to pay the price for those sins, and she was waiting for it. She wanted to be a part of what God was going to do for humanity. She was one of the small number of people who wanted to be involved in what God was doing. I don’t know about you, but I want to be involved in what God wants to do with humanity. It is exciting to be present when God does His work. I want to encourage you to find where God is moving and get involved with what He is doing. It will be worth your time and energies.
The Arnold Journey 