The Way of Hope: The Waiting Room

Devotional

Day 1: God is working in your waiting room

Some seasons of waiting feel light and joyful—like the build-up to Christmas—while others ache with delay, questions, and uncertainty. In the harder rooms, we tend to fixate on escape or quietly assume God has gone still. Yet Scripture shows that the Lord is often weaving redemption in ways we cannot see while we wait. Advent reminds us that centuries of longing were not wasted; they were the runway for Jesus’ arrival. Breathe, notice His nearness, and trust that unseen hands are moving even now. [32:36]

Luke 2:25–32 — In Jerusalem lived a man named Simeon, upright and devoted, waiting for Israel’s comfort, and God’s Spirit rested on him. The Spirit had told him he would not die before seeing the Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, he entered the temple; when Jesus was brought in, he took the child in his arms and praised God: “Now I can leave in peace, because my eyes have seen the rescue you prepared for everyone—a revealing light for the nations and honor for your people Israel.”

Reflection: Where do you feel most “stuck” right now, and what small sign of God’s quiet work will you watch for this week in that specific place?

Day 2: Devout: actions aligned with enduring faith

Simeon and Anna show what it means to wait well. They were “devout”—people whose actions lined up with their beliefs in meaningful, consistent ways. Through political upheaval and personal loss, they kept worshiping, fasting, praying, and showing up with God’s people. Devotion is not flashy; it is steady faithfulness that refuses to waste the waiting. Your room of delay can become a sanctuary when your habits lean Godward day after day. [39:07]

Luke 2:36–38 — There was a prophetess, Anna of Asher’s tribe, advanced in years. After seven years of marriage she was widowed and then devoted herself to God, staying near the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. At just the right moment, she thanked God and spoke about the child to everyone who was longing for Jerusalem’s redemption.

Reflection: What one small, regular practice (a set prayer time, a weekly fast, a simple act of service) could you adopt this week to let your actions tenderly match your faith while you wait?

Day 3: Lift your eyes; resist hyper-focus and fear

In the waiting room, our vision can shrink until the problem fills the whole horizon. Like a child fixated on the needle, panic grows when we stare at what we dread. The invitation is to lift your eyes to the Father—attending to His presence more than the threat. As you turn toward Him with prayer and gratitude, perspective widens and peace begins to guard what fear tries to steal. Looking to Him does not erase the wait, but it steadies your heart within it. [30:36]

Philippians 4:6–7 — Don’t be driven by anxiety in anything, but in every circumstance bring your needs to God through prayer and honest requests, laced with thanksgiving. Then God’s peace—far beyond what makes sense—will stand watch over your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

Reflection: When anxiety narrows your vision this week, what will be your specific “look up” cue, and how will you pray in that exact moment?

Day 4: Comfort, peace, and strength for hard times

God does not watch your waiting from a distance; He steps into it with compassion. He brings comfort in every trouble, peace that makes no sense on paper, and strength when you feel worn thin. He guards your heart where the enemy aims to steal and destroy peace, and He empowers you to keep putting one foot in front of the other. As He meets you, He also equips you to carry that same comfort to others sitting in rooms like yours. You are not alone, and you are not without help. [52:13]

2 Corinthians 1:3–4 — Praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the compassionate Father and the God of all comfort. He steps into all our troubles to console us so that, with the comfort we receive from Him, we can extend comfort to anyone in any trouble.

Reflection: Who is one person in your world who needs the comfort you’ve received, and what gentle, tangible act could you offer them this week?

Day 5: Hope and a future: don’t waste your waiting

Waiting can whisper that God is finished with you, but that is not His voice. The Lord who sent His Son for your salvation is for you, not against you; He has good work yet to do in and through your life. As you remember His promises, your waiting becomes formation—preparing you to finish well and to shine as light for others. Don’t waste the season by wishing it away; meet Him in worship, prayer, and obedience, trusting that better days are ahead in His timing. Hold fast: God is not done with you. [55:09]

Jeremiah 29:11 — “I know the plans I hold for you,” declares the Lord—plans for your well-being and not your harm, to give you a steady hope and a future you can step toward.

Reflection: What one faith-filled step—small but concrete—will you take this week that aligns with God’s hopeful future for you?

Sermon Summary

Waiting is a classroom. Advent reminds that anticipation can be joyful, yet life’s other “waiting rooms” often feel heavy: delayed answers, hard diagnoses, strained relationships, financial pressure. Scripture shows God’s people have been here before. From Babylonian exile through Roman occupation, Israel waited centuries for God to act. Some responded with violence, others with legalism, compromise, or mere survival. But a remnant chose devotion—steady prayer, worship, and obedience—refusing to let the waiting deform their hearts.

Two truths anchor this season: God is working in the waiting room, and the waiting room must not be wasted. Simeon and Anna embody this posture. Elderly, overlooked by history, they waited well. Simeon is described as righteous and devout, “waiting for the consolation of Israel,” led by the Spirit into the temple on the day he would finally see the Christ. Anna, widowed young, chose a life of worship, fasting, and prayer, staying near God’s presence day and night. Their witness offers a definition of devout: aligning actions with beliefs consistently and meaningfully. Before their eyes ever saw Jesus, their waiting revealed their faith.

When Simeon finally holds Jesus, he names him rightly: “Your salvation”—not a path among many, but God’s salvation prepared “in the presence of all peoples,” a light to the Gentiles and glory for Israel. Hope is not abstract optimism; hope has a name and a face. In seasons that tempt tunnel vision or cynicism, faith fixes its gaze on the character of God and the person of Christ.

Practical guidance flows from this vision. Resist the urge to escape at all costs; instead, practice devotion: worship, prayer, Scripture, fasting, and community. Recall the promises that carried saints before us: God is with us; his peace guards hearts and minds; he comforts in all troubles; he strengthens the weary; he is not done with his people. These promises do not sanitize pain, but they steady steps, so that our actions match our confession. To “finish well” is not to avoid waiting rooms, but to meet God within them, learning to trust his unseen work until, like Simeon and Anna, our eyes see what our hearts have long believed.

Key Takeaways

1. God is working while you wait. In waiting, the biggest lie is that nothing is happening. Scripture shows God often works most deeply beneath the surface—forming character, aligning circumstances, softening hearts. Trust does not deny pain; it denies that pain has the final word. [32:36]
2. Don’t waste the waiting room. Waiting can be a training ground or a cul-de-sac. Choose worship, prayer, fasting, and community over anxious fixation on outcomes. As attention shifts from escape to presence with God, perspective widens and hope matures. [44:43]
3. Devotion is actions matching beliefs. Devotion is not intensity but consistency—habits that embody what is confessed. Ordinary obedience over time forges spiritual resilience that crisis cannot counterfeit. Waiting reveals whether convenience or conviction actually governs the heart. [39:07]
4. Jesus is God’s salvation for all. Simeon names Jesus “Your salvation”—the definitive, universal rescue for Jew and Gentile. Hope is not self-improvement; it is surrender to the One who is the Light. Re-centering on Christ reframes delay as participation in God’s larger story. [43:33]
5. Remember God’s promises in pain. God is with you, gives peace, comforts, strengthens, and holds a future for you. Promises do not erase hardship; they anchor faith amid it. Preach them to your soul in prayer until they become the script your heart believes. [48:22]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[25:46] - Anticipation vs hard waiting
[27:25] - Israel’s centuries of waiting
[29:35] - How people responded to waiting
[32:36] - Two truths for the waiting room
[34:15] - Simeon and Anna introduced (Luke 2)
[39:07] - Devotion defined: actions match beliefs
[43:33] - Simeon’s song: salvation for all
[44:43] - Don’t waste your waiting room
[48:22] - Promise: God is with us
[50:19] - Promise: Peace beyond understanding
[53:36] - Promise: Strength for the weary
[55:09] - Promise: God’s not done with you
[56:37] - Practices: worship, prayer, Word
[59:52] - Closing prayer and sending

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading

- Luke 2:22-38

When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 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.

Observation questions

In Luke 2:22-38, what did Mary and Joseph come to do at the temple, and how does that set the stage for Simeon and Anna to step into the story?
What specific words describe Simeon and Anna in this passage, and what daily practices do those words point to?
What were some different ways people responded during Israel’s long season of waiting, and which group do Simeon and Anna resemble most? [36:45]
What two anchor truths are given for life in the “waiting room”? [32:36]

Interpretation questions

If “devout” means aligning actions with beliefs in a meaningful and consistent way, how does that challenge a view of faith that is mostly about intensity or spur-of-the-moment passion? [39:07]
Simeon calls Jesus “Your salvation,” prepared for all peoples. What is the significance of naming a person—not a plan or path—as salvation, especially during seasons of delay? [43:33]
When attention narrows to “escape at all costs,” what happens to perspective and peace? What might be the spiritual cost of that tunnel vision? [30:36]
Simeon and Anna kept showing up in worship, prayer, fasting, and community over many years. What does their steady devotion say about how God works beneath the surface during long waits? [56:37]

Application questions

Name a “waiting room” you’re in right now. What would it look like this week to shift from focusing on escape to focusing on God’s presence there? Name one concrete action you’ll take. [32:36]
Choose one practice to embody devotion for the next seven days: worship, daily prayer, Scripture, fasting a meal, or intentional time with community. What exactly will you do, when will you do it, and who will know? [56:37]
Which promise do you most need to rehearse this week—God is with you, God gives peace, God comforts, God strengthens, or God holds your future? How will you speak it to your soul daily (write it, pray it, share it)? [55:09]
Where have you treated Jesus as one option among many? Identify one decision or habit where you will honor Jesus as “God’s salvation” by obeying him first. [43:33]
Who will you invite into your waiting for prayer and encouragement? Share a name and when/how you’ll reach out. [39:07]
Think of one pressure point that tempts you toward cynicism or quitting. What small act of ordinary obedience will you practice there this week so your actions match your beliefs? [46:26]
Recall a time God met you with unexpected peace in hardship. What positioned you to receive that peace, and how can you repeat that posture this week? [50:19]

Sermon Clips

And that's what we can do In the waiting room We can get so hyper focused Like so focused on this That it just consumes us Our vision just narrows in And then we lose focus And perspective in general But we can also have A temptation Just to believe God's not doing anything And that can lead To our own little frustrations Of like Come on God Why are you not moving Why am I stuck In this waiting room Why are you not moving On my behalf On our behalf [00:32:17] (31 seconds) #TrustWhenStuck

But Anna We get a little bit more Nugget of her life Is that she was only married For seven years And then she was widowed Seven years Widowed And then she devoted her life To God After that Talk about life Just not working out The way that you think it will You might think that Rome would have never come in And taken over Or any of those types of things That Israel was going to keep Ruling themselves But then when that happens On top of all that Her life changes Of the vision Of what she probably thought Married life was going to be like Getting married Having kids Having grandchildren And all of that Got dashed away Just like that And yet we see Her vision Of what her life Was going to be like What she thought Her life was going to be like [00:38:15] (52 seconds) #HopeAfterLoss

The beauty that exists here In Simon's own words First he calls To just Just to reflect back Of God's faithfulness God you said I was I was not going to Taste death Until I laid my eyes On your Christ Your Messiah And you are faithful And true Do you believe that? That's where Simon's Faith was God you are faithful [00:43:12] (28 seconds) #FaithLikeSimon

``And it makes us Reflect when we Think about Our waiting rooms That we find Ourselves in This life Of who we Actually served God was willing To send his Only begotten son Into the world For us To live the life We could not live To die on the cross That we deserved And yet that cross That death Could not hold him And he rose again In victory And that victory Is our victory We have life Because of him If God is willing To do that What is he not Willing to do for us [00:44:28] (36 seconds) #VictoryThroughChrist

Their actions Match their faith I think we all Want that Don't we We all want that To be said about us When people think About us And remember us That's what we want Said about us Man he was He was devout Right He was righteous He loved God Right Anna Worshiped You know We remember him He worshiped He prayed He was always in He was always at church He was doing He was serving [00:46:39] (32 seconds) #ActionsMatchFaith

So you can stay Devout But I am Going to guard your heart I am going to Give you That peace Which only reflects Right First one God is with us He is with us Through sending His spirit And giving us That peace That we need When everything Seems like It's out of control And it's chaotic In our own worlds In our own world And we're not sure Where to go Which way to turn Right Then God enters in And gives us That peace That goes beyond Anything we can Really understand How so How sometimes We can be stuck In that waiting room You're like You know what I don't know Why I feel at peace Right now But I just do That's God That's not discipline That's not you Girting down Being strong That's God [00:50:31] (48 seconds) #PeaceBeyondUnderstanding

Sometimes the waiting room Can just It can just be heavy We can be dealing With some pretty hard things And sometimes How life works It's not just one thing That we're dealing with One little waiting room But our waiting room Starts to have more And more issues That are popping up It's like life Is just kind of Dumping sometimes And you can sit there And like Just feel like I'm going to collapse I don't know where to turn I am exhausted right now And in that moment God is saying Seek me Come after me Keep your eyes on me Remember Be devout Seek me Have your Have your actions Match your faith And when we come To God In that prayer When we come Into those moments Of that The life dumping Effect God says I'm going to meet you Right there And give you the strength To keep putting One foot In front of the other [00:53:36] (58 seconds) #SeekGodInHardTimes

Knowing that their God Was not against them But for them That there were Better days ahead And there are better days Ahead for you all For us If you find yourself In a waiting room There are better days ahead We serve a God Who loves us Who is for us Who is not against us As we remember These important things That we have a God Who is with us We have a God Who will give us strength Who will give us comfort Who will give us peace In these trouble And hard times But it's important To remember that When we're sitting In these waiting rooms That God is never Done with us [00:55:57] (40 seconds) #GodIsNotDone

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