“Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:25-26).
It wasn’t just luck! Shortly after Jesus was born, Simeon saw Jesus in the temple. Situations like this happen quite often to some people. Are they simply lucky? No. Look closely at Simeon. The Bible says he was righteous and devout. Simeon had the habit of doing what was good, right, and according to the Law of God. Simeon also had the habit of showing the LORD how much he loved Him by regular worship at the temple in Jerusalem. Though he never saw the Messiah until the moment he saw the infant Jesus, he waited patiently for the LORD’s Messiah, called “the consolation of Israel” to come and be revealed. Like many of the saints in the Hebrew Scriptures, Simeon lived by faith in the Messiah who was to come according to the LORD’s promises to the prophets. As he held the baby Jesus, he proclaimed, “my eyes have seen your salvation.” Simeon wasn’t “lucky” to see Jesus; rather, his life of devotion to the LORD and his expectant faith had prepared him to see Jesus when He came. In addition, the Bible says the Holy Spirit was upon Simeon and the Holy Spirit had promised Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. It wasn’t luck; rather, as Simeon worshiped in the temple the Holy Spirit led Simeon to Jesus, where he blessed Him and His family. We should prepare ourselves to see Jesus at His appearing by trusting in and serving Jesus now.