Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple…and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years.

Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.

Luke 2:36-38

Anna could have felt sorry for herself and lived a lonely life as a widow. She could have been angry at God for taking her husband so early. She certainly could have remarried and had a family. Instead, she chose a life of worship. She was preaching about the coming Messiah in a culture that didn’t listen to women. Still, she chose to fast and pray and serve the Lord and to share her faith with as many people as she could.

When the Light of the World entered the temple that day, Anna KNEW Him! After living a long, faithful life, fully devoted to God, she knew immediately that she was looking at her Messiah—the long-awaited Savior of the World. Isn’t it just like God to give such an extravagant gift to this old woman because of her humility and great faith? God answered her faithful prayers that day and she was blessed. She may not have known that Jesus would carry her sins with Him to the cross. She may have never understood that the infant she was celebrating would die on a cross, be buried in a tomb, and then breathe again. But she worshiped Jesus for what she KNEW, and that was enough! 

In spite of her difficult circumstances, Anna chose Jesus above everything else. Rather than dwelling on all that had gone wrong in her life, she focused on what was RIGHT—her God! It’s remarkably easy in a rushed, hurried life to miss Jesus. You will miss Him every time you obsess about yourself and dwell on your circumstances. You will miss Him any time you focus on what you don’t know about Him, rather than on what you do know. He is your Messiah! He is the Savior of the World, and that is more than enough—that is EVERYTHING! God has given you an extravagant gift! So follow Anna’s example. Praise God! Pray constantly! Talk about Jesus with everyone! Wait expectantly for answers to your prayers, and you will be blessed! You are loved!

It’s what you know that keeps you going! ~Rick Warren