(Post by: Michelle Hobbs) Blogmas Day Nine 2024
How is Christmas just a couple of weeks away, y’all? I feel like I have just raced right past Thanksgiving and crashed into December not really having wrapped my mind around the fact that it is Advent; like right now! Can anyone else relate?
For most of us, I think December flies by in a rush of activity that doesn’t really amount to anything close to what Advent is supposed to be. Instead, the “holiday season” turns out to be the most stressful time of year.
If I am brutally honest with you, Christmas is giving me a truckload of conflicting emotions. I am eager to create the perfect Christmas home with the perfect decorations that will make me and my family feel festive, but I feel frazzled in the constant doing. I search for and order what I hope will be the perfect gifts to show my love but feel anxious about how much money I’m spending. I have poured over so many Advent devotionals, trying to find the perfect one to draw me closer to Christ, but feel let down by each one.
Then, I heard a wise woman say, we don’t need to bring perfection to Advent but a self in need.
A self in need.
All that we really must do to accomplish the preparation of our hearts for Christ this Advent is to become aware of the depth of our need for Him. And just like He has done since that very first Christmas, He will pour Himself out to meet that need.
We read the stories of Simeon and Anna in Luke 2 in church this morning. I was struck by the longing these two ancient prophets displayed for the Messiah. It dawned on me that they are the perfect example of what Advent should look like.
Simeon, we assume, was an old man who is called righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him (v. 25).
He was waiting for consolation, meaning comfort, relief, solace. Are you waiting for those things too?
Simeon knew those things could only come from the Messiah, and He eagerly waited for Christ. Then, finally, Messiah came! Simeon was led by the Holy Spirit to meet Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus at the Temple (v. 27). Simeon took the child in his arms and praised God! Consolation and salvation had come!
Anna, a prophetess of 84 years, was also there. We are told she was a widow after only seven years of marriage. I would imagine that she had grief and questions and needed some consolation as well.
Anna never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshipping God. She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she also began praising God (v. 38). Anna could not contain her joy. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem (v. 38).
Simeon, Anna, and other ancient prophets awaited the Messiah with an aching intensity. The longing for Christ was all consuming to them. It infiltrated everything they said and did.
Can the same be said of us? Do you long for Christ with an aching intensity? Because, friends, His coming is not just something that happened in the past; it is a recurring possibility.
He will pour out Himself for you daily if you seek Him as a person in need.
He is the architect who can repair your broken home. He is the counselor who will bear your grief. He is the Prince of Peace that can calm your anxiety. He is the King of Kings who wants to rule your life and offer you blessings greater than our eyes have seen, our ears have heard, and our minds have conceived (1 Cor. 2:9).
The Few 
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