Wonders

Thursday, March 18, 2021



"And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem."
Luke 2:38 (ESV)

It’s amazing how people choose to use their words. The Toronto Star wrote about how travelers complained to their travel agents about their experiences: 

  • “On my holiday to India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don’t like spicy food at all.”

  • A guest at a Novotel in Australia complained that his soup was too thick. He was inadvertently slurping gravy.

  • Following a trip to a national theme park, one angry woman complained that the sun was so hot it melted her ice cream.

  • An air traveler voiced her disapproval of all the clouds in the sky, saying they ruined her children’s game of Eye Spy.

If you look for reasons to complain, you will find them. Today’s scripture is about someone who had many reasons to complain. Anna was a widow. We don’t know any details about her marriage, only that it wasn’t long enough. She had been a widow longer than she had been with the love of her life. Talk about many reasons to complain. 

Instead, she chose not to depart from the temple. She would pray and fast day and night. I believe that her choice probably allowed her to go from widow to prophetess. When she saw Joseph, Mary and Jesus, she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him (Jesus) to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Sometimes God wants to show us great things. Our choice to complain blinds us from seeing God’s blessings. 

Anna could have been self-centered. She decided to be God-centered. As she prayed, fasted, waited, God allowed her to see His Son, the redeemer of the world. 

God wants you to see great things. Only when you stop looking at your unfortunate as a life sentence you can embrace what God has for you. 

I know that life happens. The blessing is that none of this is a surprise to God. Take your cares to Him. Invest time seeking Him and His word. I guarantee you He will start showing You His wonders.

Prayer: Lord, help me to be wise in the use of my time. Help me use it for your glory. May my words be used to glorify you, not to complain. Open my eyes to see your wonders. In Jesus’ name, Amen.