When God’s Promise Takes Forever to Arrive (Christmas Dreams Week 2)

Devotional

Day 1: When God’s promise takes longer than expected

Waiting can feel like sitting at a table with an empty plate, wondering if the kitchen forgot your order. Simeon knew that feeling, yet he kept showing up, trusting that God had not forgotten him or his people. Waiting doesn’t mean God is absent; it often means God is preparing something deeper in you than you can see. Like bamboo forming a strong root system underground, God strengthens character and trust beneath the surface. Hold the promise, even when the calendar stretches, because God’s timing is not neglect—it’s formation [02:14]

Luke 2:25–32
A man in Jerusalem named Simeon lived a faithful, reverent life, and God’s Spirit rested on him. The Spirit had told him he would not die before seeing the One who would rescue God’s people. Led into the temple, he took the child Jesus in his arms and praised God: “You can release me in peace now, because I’ve seen with my own eyes the salvation You planned for everyone—a revealing light for the nations and honor for Israel.”

Reflection: Where do you feel like God may have forgotten you, and what “root work” could you allow Him to do there this week through one simple practice of trust?

Day 2: Train your eyes to see God’s goodness

Pain is real, and Jesus never hid that from us, but pain isn’t the whole story. You can choose to expect God’s goodness in the “land of the living,” not just in eternity. Begin to retrain your eyes: name three gifts from God when you wake, then look for three graces He gives throughout the day, and thank Him for three more before bed. This practice doesn’t deny hardship; it helps you spot God’s mercy right in the middle of it. Expecting His goodness opens your heart to notice it [03:27]

Psalm 27:13
I am confident of this: I will see God’s good hand while I’m still alive on this earth, not only in some distant future.

Reflection: What are three specific ways you noticed God’s goodness today, and how could you mark them so you don’t forget tomorrow?

Day 3: Opposition as the workshop of maturity

God often grows what we can’t see before He grows what we can. Conflict and delay pull our reliance away from our own strength and back to God’s sufficiency. Some problems stretch beyond our resources on purpose, so when rescue arrives we know it was His doing, not ours. In Jesus we find steady peace even while the storm rages around us. Let the waiting drive your roots deeper into Him [04:05]

John 16:33
“I’ve told you these things so you can share in my peace. In this world you’re going to face trouble, but take courage—I have overcome the world.”

Reflection: What is one current conflict where you sense God asking you to release control, and what is one small, concrete step of trust you can take today?

Day 4: Discipline that fits your real life

Anna stayed—through grief, years, and silence—worshiping with fasting and prayer, and she was in the right place to recognize Jesus. Faith is like a muscle; it grows with consistent, doable reps, not sporadic bursts of effort. If your spiritual routine doesn’t fit your life, reshape the routine—link prayer to your morning hygiene, let Scripture read to you on your commute, or tithe on payday before anything else. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s sustainable, faithful practice that keeps you near God. Build a rhythm you can actually keep, and keep it [02:59]

1 Timothy 4:7–10
Skip the pointless arguments and train yourself to live God’s way. Physical workouts have value, but training in godliness is better still, bringing benefits now and in the life to come. This is why we work hard and press on—our hope is set on the living God, the Savior of all.

Reflection: What one small adjustment could you make to your weekly rhythm that would make seeking God sustainable for you right now?

Day 5: Waiting is not a detour; it’s preparation

Simeon and Anna show that endurance positions us for joy we might have missed if we’d walked away. Waiting isn’t wasted time; it’s the workshop where God readies you for what He promised. You may arrive with more scars than you planned and with different people than you expected, but you will still arrive if you keep trusting. Keep showing up, keep refining your focus, keep doing the simple things that build holy stamina. Dream on until the God-dream He planted in you breaks into view [03:45]

Luke 2:36–38
A prophet named Anna, long widowed and now elderly, stayed at the temple in worship, fasting and praying day and night. She came up just as the child Jesus was brought in, began to thank God, and told everyone who was expecting God to set Jerusalem free that the moment had come.

Reflection: What God-given dream have you quietly shelved, and what is one faithful action you could take this week to move toward it while you wait on Him?

Sermon Summary

I opened with some laughs about hibachi and fondue because I’m impatient and bad at waiting—but that’s where most of us live, especially this time of year. From there, I turned our eyes to Luke 2 and to Simeon, a righteous man who had a God-given promise: he would see the Messiah with his own eyes. The backdrop of his life was political chaos, desecration, civil war, and bloodshed. If anyone had reason to conclude God had forgotten, it was Simeon. Yet waiting didn’t mean God was absent; waiting meant God was preparing. I used the bamboo image to show how roots grow underground for years so the stalk can surge in weeks. God grows the underground network of our character—humility, integrity, dependence—so when growth comes, it doesn’t snap us.

Simeon’s long waiting refined his focus. When Mary and Joseph entered the temple with a baby that looked like every other baby, Simeon saw what no one else did: the Messiah. Waiting can train our eyes to recognize God’s goodness in real time. I shared a vulnerable confession: I had come to expect pain more than promise, quietly assuming goodness was reserved for heaven. But Psalm 27:13 reawakened my expectation: “I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” I’m choosing to pray bolder, memorize promises, and practice gratitude that looks for specific gifts from God each day.

We also looked at Anna, a widow who suffered for decades and stayed. She worshiped, fasted, and prayed. Her endurance shows us faith is a muscle; it grows with consistent, often ordinary repetitions. So build a routine that fits your life: Scripture in the morning or on your commute, prayer tied to your hygiene, generosity linked to payday. Don’t blame the devil for what discipline can fix. Waiting refines focus, builds muscle, and is always worth it. You may arrive with more scars than you planned and with different people than you started with, but you will still arrive. Waiting isn’t the detour; it’s the workshop where God prepares you for the dream He gave. So don’t give up. Dream on until His dream comes true.

Key Takeaways

1. Waiting is preparation, not absence. God’s delays are not divine neglect; they are careful construction. He grows roots before He grows fruit—integrity, humility, and dependence robust enough to carry what’s coming. Sometimes He even allows what’s beyond our control so we’ll know the rescue wasn’t us. Waiting is the furnace that tempers a life He can trust. [41:52]
2. Train your eyes for goodness. Simeon recognized Christ because years of longing sharpened his vision. Expectation tunes the soul to hear faint notes of promise others miss. Pray specifically, memorize promises, and practice daily gratitude so you can spot God’s hand in real time. Believe you will see His goodness in the land of the living. [48:43]
3. Stay put and build discipline. Anna didn’t drift; she dwelled. Worship, fasting, and prayer became her steady place, and that steadiness positioned her to witness God’s faithfulness. Faith grows like muscle—under tension, with consistency, over time. Endurance isn’t glamorous, but it’s where clarity comes. [54:21]
4. Fit obedience to your real life. If your rhythms don’t work, you won’t work them. Link Scripture, prayer, community, and generosity to times and places you already keep—your commute, hygiene, calendars, and paydays. Design a sustainable rule of life that keeps you near God when storms hit. Consistency creates capacity for blessing. [60:47]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[28:46] - Hibachi, fondue, and impatience
[32:05] - Luke 2: Mary, Joseph, and the temple
[35:10] - Simeon’s promise and longing
[38:23] - Israel’s chaos and need for rescue
[41:52] - Waiting as preparation: the bamboo roots
[45:23] - Simeon recognizes Jesus in the crowd
[48:43] - Confession: expecting pain vs. goodness
[51:57] - Training your eyes with gratitude
[54:21] - Meet Anna: endurance in the temple
[57:34] - Faith as muscle; disciplined staying
[60:47] - Build a routine that fits your life
[64:03] - Waiting is worth it: endurance and arrival
[65:34] - Prayer: Expecting God’s goodness now

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
- Luke 2:22-38

Observation questions

What words or actions in Luke 2:25-35 describe Simeon’s character and the promise he had been given?
In Luke 2:22-24 the crowd sees a baby; Simeon sees the Messiah. What textual clues show why Simeon recognized Jesus when others did not?
What does Luke 2:36-38 tell about Anna’s daily life, practices, and witness?
The bamboo image was used to describe how God prepares under the surface while there seems to be no growth. How does that image help explain Simeon’s and Anna’s long waiting? [41:52]

Interpretation questions

How does the idea that "waiting is preparation, not absence" change the way a person should interpret seasons of delay or hardship in their life? [41:52]
Simeon immediately takes the child, praises God, and declares the child a "light for revelation." What does Simeon’s response imply about the link between expectation, spiritual attentiveness, and bold action? [45:23]
Anna spent decades in worship, fasting, and prayer—she "stayed." What does her persistence suggest about how routine and discipline shape spiritual endurance and readiness? [54:21]
Psalm 27:13 (I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living) was used to reframe expectation. What does expecting God's goodness now (not only in eternity) do to a person's faith and daily habits? [48:43]

Application questions

Waiting is preparation, not absence. Name one situation you are currently waiting in. What is one practical step you will take this week to invite God to work in that waiting rather than trying to fix it yourself? (Small, measurable step: a prayer, a confession, a specific surrender.) [41:52]
Train your eyes for God's goodness. Choose one promise or short verse you will memorize this week and one specific gratitude habit you will try (for example: three things when you wake and three before bed). What will you memorize and what habit will you begin? [48:43]
Stay put and build discipline. Pick one simple spiritual routine that fits your life (scripture on your commute, prayer while brushing teeth, generosity on payday). What routine will you commit to for the next 30 days and how will you make it sustainable? [01:00:47]
Fit obedience to real life. What has been the real barrier (time, shame, busyness, wrong routine) that made spiritual habits fall apart before? What one concrete change will you make this week to remove that barrier? [01:00:47]
When waiting tempts someone to believe God has forgotten, it helps to collect evidence of God’s work. What two memories or two Bible truths can you list now that point to God's faithful preparation in your life? How will you remind yourself of these when doubt comes? [41:52]
Accountability builds muscle. Who could help you stay consistent in the next season (friend, partner, small group)? What specific check-in will you ask them for (weekly text, monthly call, shared journal)? [54:21]

(Use Luke 2:22-38 as the passage for group reading before discussion.)

Sermon Clips

whenever we are waiting we are waiting to see the explosive growth we want God to deliver we want God to fix we want God to resolve we want God to take care of things we want the blessing we want the benefit but while we are waiting what God is doing is he is growing the root network of your integrity of your character he is preparing you for the explosive growth he must prepare you in your maturity to maintain the growth that he wants to give but once that growth begins it's often uncomfortable [00:41:44] (36 seconds) #RootsBeforeRise

God will frequently use conflict and opposition to grow us beyond where we would grow on our own and our response to that conflict that opposition that waiting that pain is often to try and fix it ourselves our first response tends to be what we can do about it rather than trusting God with it that we want to leverage our resources our relationships our gifting to try and take care of the problem ourselves [00:42:20] (28 seconds) #TrustDontFix

God makes you wait to grow you God makes you wait in uncomfortable situations out of your control to show you how much you need him God makes you wait to keep you sometimes in your life you have to lose to know how to win to know how to win with him and so for Simeon he had seen all the problems all the conflict all the unrest in his country he knew that was not something that could be solved under his power or anyone else's so he waited on God and as he waited on God God produced God grew something in Simeon that he wants to produce and grow in you as well [00:43:43] (46 seconds) #WaitingToGrow

Because of this in challenging seasons in overwhelming seasons and painful seasons I would prepare myself only for the worst I would prepare myself for disappointment I would prepare myself for pain knowing that God works everything together for good but my expectant heart was that God would prepare that good in eternity and what that is is an incomplete faith that's a faith that ignores a lot of the Bible [00:48:49] (37 seconds) #ExpectGodsGoodNow

how does she answer her situation how does she respond to all of this she stayed Anna stayed in the temple worshiping God how often do we abandon what works to bring us closer to God when we need it the most how often do we isolate and withdraw from the Bible or from church or from support when we're hurting how often do we give up on what works when we have to wait and then we start blaming God for not answering or feeling distant we start blaming the devil for attacking but am I blaming the devil for being busy when I've gotten lazy [00:55:14] (53 seconds) #StayWithWhatWorks

you need to stop blaming the devil for what discipline can fix when you're in this season of waiting you need to do the work to be consistent to be disciplined to have the right routine to help you see the goodness of the lord in the land of the living it takes hard work and that's what god is waiting to produce in you [01:02:55] (27 seconds) #DisciplineNotBlame

talent and ability are not enough nothing is any good without endurance god loves you enough to make you wait to take your gifts and your resources and your strategies and your experiences beyond where you can take them on your own and so if you really will wait on god if you really stay put and put in the work in order to have the right focus in order to have the right discipline the right routine then god is going to get you where he wants you to be [01:03:40] (30 seconds) #EnduranceOverTalent

``you might arrive with more scars than you had planned but you're still going to get there you might get to the end of your journey with god with different people than you started it with but you're still going to get there the pain the problems people they can't stop you the tears the trauma the trials they can't stop you if you're waiting on god you're still going to get there waiting is not the detour it's not the roadblock it's the workshop where god is preparing you for the dreams he's made you for so don't give up on the god dream dream on dream on dream on till those god dreams come true [01:04:17] (69 seconds) #StillGettingThere

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When God’s Promise Takes Forever to Arrive (Christmas Dreams Week 2)

Devotional

Day 1: When God’s promise takes longer than expected

Day 2: Train your eyes to see God’s goodness

Day 3: Opposition as the workshop of maturity

Day 4: Discipline that fits your real life

Day 5: Waiting is not a detour; it’s preparation

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

When God’s Promise Takes Forever to Arrive (Christmas Dreams Week 2)

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