“To hope is to risk frustration. Therefore, make up your mind to risk frustration.”  —Thomas Merton, Trappist monk and writer (1915–1968)

 

 

Simeon was a godly man who lived by faith. It wasn't easy to live by faith when the Roman army occupied his country. It wasn't easy to believe in a coming Messiah.  But Simeon held onto HOPE!

Anna was very old. She had been a widow for 84 years. Her husband had died & her life was spent mostly alone. It is not easy to be old or alone but it was particularly difficult in 1^st century Israel. But Anna held onto HOPE!

The story of Simeon & Anna is part of the Christmas story that says HOPE!
Luke 2:25-38 “ In Jerusalem lived a man named Simeon who was a good man & godly. He was waiting for the time when God would take away Israel’s sorrow, & the Holy Spirit was in him.  Simeon had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he saw the Christ promised by the Lord.  The Spirit led Simeon to the Temple. When Mary & Joseph brought the baby Jesus to the Temple to do what the law said they must do,  Simeon took the baby in his arms & thanked God: “Now, Lord, you can let me, your servant, die in peace as you said. With my own eyes I have seen your salvation, which you prepared before all people…..” Jesus’ father & mother were amazed at what Simeon had said about him.  Then Simeon blessed them & said to Mary, “God has chosen this child to cause the fall & rise of many in Israel. He will be a sign from God that many people will not accept  so that the thoughts of many will be made known. And the things that will happen will make your heart sad, too.”

 

 

Simeon & Anna held onto hope. What are some of the ingredients of hope that they held onto?

 

 

Ingredient #1. HOPE ANTICIPATES FUTURE GOOD. Jerome Groopman, wrote a book called THE ANATOMY OF HOPE.  He defined hope as "the ability to see a path to the future."

 

Simeon saw the pain in his nation & grieved with the suffering of his people under the cruel hand of the Romans. But Simeon risked frustration & saw a path to the future through a Messiah who God had promised to send. His dream was to live long enough to see this promise fulfilled. Simeon held onto the HOPE & anticipated future good.

 

Anna was a widow more than ten times longer than she was a wife. She had no prospects of marriage or future children. She was a prime candidate for hopelessness. But she believed that God would send a Savior & now she was able to see Jesus. Anna held onto the HOPE & anticipated future good.

 

When life is easy we don't need hope.  But life gets difficult most of us struggle with doubt & uncertainty. It’s especially then that we realize our need for hope. A hope that anticipates a good future!

Ingredient #2. HOPE COMES FROM GOD.  Hope without God is merely wishful thinking. Just because we "Think Snow" or "Wish Peace" or "Want health" doesn't mean that any of this will happen. Christian hope is different. Christian hope comes from God.

 

Ingredient #3. HOPE TAKES TIME. Hope’s realization is seldom quick. God took a long time for the hopes of Simeon & Anna to come about. Sometimes the fulfillment of hope takes a long time.

 

Christian hope anticipates a good future, comes from God, & usually takes time. The practical question is how to hope like a Christian.

1- GUARD HOPE.Hope is a very precious commodity that needs to be guarded. Col 1:23 ="Continue in your faith, established & firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel." To hope is to risk frustration. Therefore, make up your mind to risk frustration & guard your heart against giving up hope.  

- Guard your heart from the thieves of hope: circumstances, disease, disappointment, discouragement, death, & God’s seeming inaction. These thieves leave us feeling powerless, or thinking that God is powerless. It is a lie of Satan that these thieves are out of God’s control. Listen to what the Apostle Paul said when he was dealing with thieves that tried to steal his hope: “So we do not give up. Our physical body is becoming older & weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day. We have small troubles for a while now, but they are helping us gain an eternal glory that is much greater than the troubles. We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. What we see will last only a short time, but what we cannot see will last forever. (2 Cor 4:14-16 NCV)      If you are being threatened by hope thieves ask Jesus for help. He understands & is willing to help. Guard your HOPE!

2 – TRUST THE PROMISES OF GOD. The word "hope" appears over 150 times in our English Bible. Many of them refer to promises of God about hope that can help.

 

Here are some suggestions:

 

-Is. 40:31 “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run & not grow weary, they will walk & not be faint.

 

-Lam 3:20-23 “I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.  Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”

 

 

-Ps. 147:11 “The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love”.

 

 

-Heb. 6: 18-19 “So God has given both his promise & his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong & trustworthy anchor for our souls.”  

 

Under the ancient city of Rome there are miles catacombs. You can see them yourself if you visit the city. Christians buried their dead there & wrote words & symbols on the walls of the caves. The most common symbols were the cross, the fish, & the anchor. In the midst of poverty, persecution & death they held onto their Christian hope in God's grace – hope was & is the anchor of our faith.

 

3 – BE PATIENT. Simeon & Anna hoped for a long time before they experienced the fulfillment of their hopes. Hope is about the future. Hope is in what God will do.

As you wait, don't give up hoping. Don't give into the thinking that God has forgotten you or your situation. Hold onto hope with the conviction that God will do good no matter how long it takes. The Apostle Paul, during one of his waiting experiences said: “ But we are hoping for something we do not have yet, & we are waiting for it patiently”.   (Rom. 8:25 NCV)

 

How do we hope like a Christian: We guard our hope, we trust in the promises, & we wait patiently.

 

Conclusion: When illness strikes, when your retirement fund keeps shrinking, when the job outlook looks weak, when swamped with discouragement – hold onto HOPE, by keep your hope strong through faith in Jesus.  

 

 

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father encourage you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say. God loved us, and through his grace he gave us a good hope and encouragement that continues forever.”     2 Thess 2:16-17