https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-En0awUoKC
Door of Recognition
Luke 2:25–32 (NIV)
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 sign of all nations;
A light for revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of your people Israel.”
If you could walk into the temple courts on that day, you wouldn’t notice anything unusual.
The morning would feel like every other morning—priests lighting lamps, families presenting sacrifices, travelers whispering prayers as they moved in and out of the columns and courtyards. Nothing dramatic. Nothing that looked like the fulfillment of hundreds of years of prophecy. Just the sound of footsteps on stone.
But in the middle of all that ordinary noise was a man who had been listening to God for a very long time.
Simeon wasn’t a priest, a prophet, or a public figure. He was simply a man who had taken God’s promise seriously: “You will not die before you see the Messiah.” That promise had shaped the way he walked into every day. Every sunrise held possibility. Every new face held potential. Every visit to the temple carried the question, “Could it be today?”
So, when the Holy Spirit nudged Simeon to go into the temple courts, he didn’t shrug it off. He followed. And there—without a choir of angels or a shining star—stood Mary and Joseph holding their infant Son. No one else stopped. No one else looked twice. But Simeon knew.
Decades of trusting God had trained his heart to recognize God.
Imagine being close enough to see Simeon’s face as he stepped toward Jesus, hands trembling, breath catching. He wasn’t just seeing a baby. He was seeing the arrival of redemption. The fulfillment of promise. The end of waiting. The beginning of hope. “My eyes have seen Your salvation,” he said—not because he understood everything, but because he knew the One who keeps His promises and he recognized Him at work.
On this day, He recognized his Salvation, carried in the arms of a young mother.
Reflect
God often comes quietly. Not every answer arrives with fireworks. Sometimes what God is doing looks small, humble, and easy to overlook. But those who have been listening and waiting—those whose hearts are tuned to God—are the ones who recognize Him in the moment.
How are you tuning in regularly so that you recognize whereGod is at work?
What quiet or ordinary part of your life might God be at work that is waiting for your recognitions – and response?
