She (Anna) never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.
Coming up to them (Mary and Joseph) at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child [Jesus] to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. Luke 2:36–38 NIV
Lord Jesus, though you’ve existed forever, by the calendar of your incarnation, you were just eight days old when Anna met you in the temple. Her life was marked with pain, but her heart was filled with hope. She worshipped and waited for decades, anticipating the Messiah’s birth, the fullness of redemption, and the end of all evil.
That day dawned with your birth, Jesus, and what a redemption you have secured for us. By your life, death, and resurrection, every promise God made will be fulfilled. Your last words on the cross, “It is finished,” are our first words of salvation, sanity, and satisfaction.
There’s still a lot we don’t understand and don’t like about life in this fallen world, Jesus. But this we do know and like a whole lot. Right now, our Father loves us as much as he loves you, because he has hidden our lives in yours. We are surely and fully yours.
Also, all sickness, suffering and sorrows have been given an expiration date. Heartache, loss, and pain won’t get the last word. You will. Death is now working in reverse. Your heart and hand are at work in ways we don’t always have the privilege of seeing. In this life, you promise sufficient grace, not answers to every question or the resolution of all issues.
One Day—one blessed Day we will be able to say with joy, “Oh, that is what you were up to, when my heart hurt more than I felt your presence.” Anna lived with that kind of hope. We want to as well, Jesus.
Until then, Jesus, may the gospel free us to worship God more whole-heartedly, passionately, and tenaciously, like Anna. May your beauty and bounty continue to topple all the idols of our hearts. Free us to accept Abba’s timetable for all things. So very Amen we pray, in your most wonderful and merciful name.