Daily Devotional (GPS)
Elderly Prophets Recognized Jesus: Hope Never Ages
Daily Scripture
Luke 2:25-38
25 A man named Simeon was in Jerusalem. He was righteous and devout. He eagerly anticipated the restoration of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 26 The Holy Spirit revealed to him that he wouldn’t die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 Led by the Spirit, he went into the temple area. Meanwhile, Jesus’ parents brought the child to the temple so that they could do what was customary under the Law. 28 Simeon took Jesus in his arms and praised God. He said,
29 “Now, master, let your servant go in peace according to your word,
30 because my eyes have seen your salvation.
31 You prepared this salvation in the presence of all peoples.
32 It’s a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and a glory for your people Israel.”
33 His father and mother were amazed by what was said about him. 34 Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “This boy is assigned to be the cause of the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that generates opposition 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your innermost being too.”
36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, who belonged to the tribe of Asher. She was very old. After she married, she lived with her husband for seven years. 37 She was now an 84-year-old widow. She never left the temple area but worshipped God with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 She approached at that very moment and began to praise God and to speak about Jesus to everyone who was looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
We usually read this story at Christmas, but it carries a message about aging without fear. Here were Mary (likely in her early teens) and Joseph, bringing an infant to the Temple to dedicate to God. Who greeted them? Scholar N. T. Wright noted: “In this passage, we have the old man [Simeon] and woman [Anna], waiting their turn to die, worshiping God night and day and praying for the salvation of his people. Luke wants to draw readers of every age and stage of life into his picture.” *
- Simeon hadn’t let himself become a “cranky old man.” Despite decades of waiting under Roman occupation and corrupt religious leadership, Simeon’s hope remained fresh and eager. What keeps hope alive in your life when circumstances make God’s work hard to see? How can you, at any age, nurture a hopeful sense of “eager anticipation” about what God is doing? What keeps hope alive when circumstances are hard?
- We don’t know exactly, but Anna had probably been in the Temple constantly for 60 or more years. “Worship night and day” (verse 37) had apparently become her life. Worship, fasting, and prayer shaped anything else she did. How can your time spent worshiping God, praying, and studying the Bible shape what you do with the rest of your time? What would it look like for spiritual practices to fill you with the same confidence and eager anticipation they gave Anna and Simeon?
Prayer
O God, one of your names in the Bible is “Ancient of Days.” I’m thankful you are the Lord of all my days, from birth through old age. Like Simeon and Anna, keep me eagerly anticipating your work, aware of your presence with me. Amen.
GPS Insights
Lisa Wilt
Lisa Wilt, who serves as a member and greeter at Resurrection’s Blue Springs campus, wrote today's Insights. She is a retired pharmacist who once dispensed meds but now dispenses encouragement as an Abingdon author, inspirational speaker, podcaster and daily radio devotional host. Lisa is a small-town gal with God sized dreams, a mom to four, a GiGi to two, and a wife to one–-David. Her family will tell you that her singing is dreadful, but her banana bread is delightful.
Today’s title proclaims, “Hope never ages!” But we do. Here are ten ways you know you’re aging:
…when your back goes out more often than you do.
…when your train of thought leaves the station without you.
…when your mind says, “go for it,” and your body says, “let’s not.”
…when you don’t mind the gray hair, but you do wonder where the rest of your hair went.
…when your wild oats have turned into shredded wheat.
…when “late night” now means 9:30.
…when “happy hour” is a nap.
…when you decide health food is overrated because preservatives might actually help.
…when the candles on your cake cost more than the cake itself.
…when your age is still “just a number,” but now it’s a really big one.
My grandpa lived to be 103, and while he couldn’t always tell you his age, he could always tell you a joke. He loved to laugh, and so do I. Proverbs 17:22 tells us that “a cheerful heart is good medicine,” and Proverbs 13:12 tells us, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”
God never dismisses the weight of waiting. This verse offers a promise—that when longing is fulfilled, it becomes a tree of life, rooted and renewing. Simeon and Anna lived this truth. Their lives bore the marks of years spent waiting, watching, and worshiping. Yet their hope hadn’t expired. It hadn’t dimmed with time. It had deepened.
Together, Simeon and Anna show us something essential: they didn’t just hope for something. They hoped in Someone. There’s a difference.
Hoping for a specific thing, outcome, or timeline can leave us weary when the wait stretches long. Deferred expectations can drain our heart. But Simeon and Anna weren’t anchored to a schedule. They were anchored to the faithfulness of God. They trusted the One who made the promise, not just the promise itself.
Hoping in God is different because God is trustworthy. He doesn’t age. He doesn’t forget. He doesn’t weaken or misplace His words. What He has spoken, He will fulfill.
When our hope is rooted in Him, it becomes resilient. It can endure delay without collapsing. It can survive silence. It can outlast disappointment. Often, it grows stronger with time.
Maybe you feel the ache Proverbs describes—a prayer unanswered, a dream delayed, a season longer than expected. Aging can make deferred hope feel heavier, whispering that it’s too late.
But Simeon and Anna remind us that God is not slow; He is steady. Instead of letting the delay harden their hearts, it strengthened their trust. They returned to the temple not with resignation, but with expectation. When Simeon finally held Jesus in his arms, he didn’t just see a baby. He saw the fulfillment of a lifetime of longing. In that quiet moment, his waiting turned to worship. His hope became the “tree of life” Proverbs describes–alive, rooted, and whole.
God’s timing is never late–it is purposeful. When redemption comes, it often arrives quietly–like a baby carried by a young mother into the temple. Yet its impact is life-giving. It restores. It renews. It becomes a tree of life that nourishes not only you, but those around you.
Hope never ages because God never ages.
God is still writing. You are still waiting. And hope is still alive.
What is the GPS?
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