Widow's Journal

Widows often lament: I could never remarry---That would be so hard! I had the perfect person for me! Yes, in so many ways, I can relate! In time, some widows do remarry, finding their next chapter. Others step into a pattern of serving the Lord, finding contentment in this service, being a “laborer” in the field of souls who need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Some will find their way to serve in other avenues like reaching out to minister to other widows. But with young widows especially, with so much of life ahead, the years can seem so long. In this scenario, we find one of the Bible’s young widows who found her service in a difficult time. Let’s meet Anna.

Anna is only referenced in the second chapter of Luke, verses 36-38. She is a prophetess living in the temple, as Luke reports that she never left the temple, “serving God night and day with fasting and prayers.” (v. 37) There in the temple, she witnessed the righteous, devout Simeon praying over the infant Jesus, brought to the temple by His earthly parents, Mary and Joseph. Simeon was looking forward to the “consolation of Israel” (v.25). He was awaiting the Messiah. Verse 26 tells us that the Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he would not die before he would see the Messiah, God’s Chosen One, the Christ. So, on this special day, he’d been led by the Spirit to go to the temple, and when he saw the infant Jesus, he took him into his arms. He prayed a prophetic prayer that revealed that this was Who they’d been waiting for, the salvation and glory of his people, Israel, and the Light of revelation for the Gentiles. Now, Simeon says, “You can dismiss your servant in peace, as You promised.” (v.29) And Anna heard all of what Simeon prayed. God had made a promise to His righteous, devout servant, Simeon, even in the 400 years of silence between Old and New Testament.

400 years of silence. But God was still working, even in that silence. Prophecies were coming about. Some Jews were still trying to honor God, even though in general, His people were not revering Him. The temple was being neglected. Teaching the ways of God seemed to have fallen by the wayside.

But there was a man named Phanuel. He was from the tribe of Asher, which means “Happy”. Asher had been Jacob’s eighth son, Leah’s second. The blessing of Moses over the tribe of Asher held special meaning. Deuteronomy 33:24-25 describes the blessing of prosperity, fruitful land, as well as strength and long lives. “May the bolts of your gate be iron and bronze, and your strength last as long as you live.” (v.25) These were blessings of God’s protection. Phanuel, meaning Turns his face toward God, must’ve had parents who’d named Him in reverence and honor of the Lord they loved.

Nearly 300 years into this time of silence, Phanuel has a daughter and names her Anna. Anna, which means “Favor” or “Grace” As we meet her, she is a widow. We don’t know how her husband perished. Had he succumbed to war-related injuries from battling the Syrians? These were continued battles that went on until the Roman conquest of 63 BC. But they had been married only 7 years when she became a widow. The Bible states she’d been a widow for 84 years. If she had married around the common age of 13 or 14, she would’ve become a widow around 20 years of age, this would make her close to 104 years old at her meeting the baby Jesus. Moses’ blessing that prophesied longevity over the tribe of Asher has certainly been realized in Anna’s long life! So, as Anna hears Simeon’s prayer over the Messiah, her heart rejoices!

Anna’s reaction to seeing the infant Messiah is truly a “Happy” moment of joy for her. All the years she’d been in the temple, fasting and praying, and now she, like Simeon, has seen the Promised One! At that moment, Luke retells, she came up to the Child and began to thank God! What a praiseworthy moment for her, and suddenly after all those years of serving the Lord, she does the very thing that joy-filled folks do: tell others, tell everyone, tell the world: The Messiah has come! Every person she knew who was waiting for the Christ to come, she got the message to them! He is here! He is here!

The silent years were over. Years without a message from God, and now the ancient prophets’ words had become reality. She had fasted and prayed, looking forward to this day, serving God with this day in mind, and now the Promised Messiah had arrived. Indeed, as Moses’ blessing over the tribe of Asher, her strength had lasted as long as her days and her days had continued until the time of the Messiah for Whom she waited!

How like Anna we can be in our own widow-waiting-and-working time. We can tell others: The Hope of Ages has come and He is coming again! We can share the good news that His Holy Spirit is here now, living in those who have trusted in Jesus as their Savior and Lord, Who took away the wrath of God from the believer’s life. We can share the Hope we have in Him now and eternally, Who saved us from the wrath against sin by paying our debt of sin by giving His life on the cross of Calvary and was raised in resurrection power. We can pass along to others the way to real and lasting Peace, because He was born to be the Prince of Peace by restoring our relationship with God the Father by way of that Cross. We can share our faith with the enthusiasm of Anna who wanted to spread the word: He is here! For 84 years Anna spoke of God, never leaving the temple, praying and fasting, the lady of grace and favor waiting for the Messiah. We might not have 84 years to declare His gospel, but while we are widows-in-waiting, we can have the faith of Anna. We can dare to be an Anna.