The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. I cannot imagine what it was like to have been Simeon. My mental image has always been of Simeon as a bent and shriveled older gentleman. The Spirit of God had made him aware that he would live to see the Messiah. Whenever he felt the nudge of the Spirit, he must have questioned in the back of his mind whether this would be the day when he would finally see the fulfillment of that which he had long been waiting. Finally, one day it occurred.
Simeon’s response to seeing this moment was one that sings to my heart. While he never comes right out and says, “Thank you, Lord,” his words reflect the praise and thankfulness that he was able to see the way in which God worked for the good of all people.
I often feel I need to do a better job of being able to offer this form of thanksgiving. It is easy for me to thank God for the things that clearly are blessings in my life: my family, the grace of the Lord’s salvation, and the tangible ways in which the Almighty provides for us. But I need to turn my heart and my mind toward the other ways that I should offer thanks to the Lord. I need to thank God for the continuous ways He works to bring about the salvation that has been prepared “in the sight of all nations.” Even more, I need to form my life into one which offers thanks to God in all situations, especially those that are the most difficult for me to see as blessings.