Where Will You Be the Moment Jesus Comes?
In the gospel of Luke, we learn the story of Anna, an elderly woman who just happened to be in the temple when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to present Him to the Lord.
She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. At that very moment, she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. Luke 2:36-38
Anna was in the temple at the moment Jesus came because she was devoted to the Lord! It was no coincidence that Anna was there. She was always there! Serving the Lord in His house was the passion of her heart! It had not just begun to be so. From the time of her husband’s death, she became deeply devoted to the Lord.
In those days, girls married at an early age. Seven years after her marriage, Anna’s husband died. She was likely widowed in her early twenties. Instead of becoming bitter with grief, she gave herself to the Lord in absolute surrender. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.
So many of our lives have been touched by grief. Will your grief move you to be more devoted to the Lord, or will you choose, because of your grief, to give Him the cold shoulder? Anna drew great strength from being in God’s house. She was faithful to God. She was not afraid of God. She loved Him and longed to be near Him. She was there because she wanted to be, not because she had to be! Had she missed being in God’s house that day, she would have missed Jesus! Because she was there, she was in a position to see Him, to worship Him, and to experience His presence.
Anna was in the temple at the moment Jesus came because serving the Lord was the passion of her heart! Where will you be and what will you be doing at the moment Jesus comes? Will you be in bed? Will you be at the lake? Will you be on the beach? Will you be shopping? Will you be involved in some sinful activity?
Anna was in the temple because it was the delight of her heart to be there!
The Bible says that she never left the temple. Does that mean that she was there twenty-four hours a day? No. But it means that she was so devoted to the Lord, His word and work, that her whole life was centered around the temple. On the day for worship, she was there. When nobody else was there for anything special, she was there fasting and praying.
Anna was in the temple at the moment Jesus came because she was hungry for God! She fasted. That means she was so hungry for God that sometimes she didn’t eat. She prayed. That means she talked to God constantly. Anna fasted and prayed in the temple, waiting and longing for the Lord’s presence.
So, when Jesus came, Anna was there! Some of us are praying for the Lord to manifest His presence at Dauphin Way. We want to experience His presence and His power. Will you be at Dauphin Way when the Lord pours out His presence? But even more important, you should know that Jesus is coming for all of us soon! Where will you be on the day that Jesus comes? What if He should come Sunday? Where will you be the moment Jesus comes?
Pastor Eddie Davidson