Celebrating Women of the Bible: Anna

I love being around people older than me, we tend to get along swimmingly. I once worked with a woman who was in her 80’s who was just a gem. I relished the time I was able to share with her. On the days when I’d get to the office early (a rarity), I savored the moments I could chat with her. She would tell me stories about her life and share the wisdom she had gleaned over her many years of faithfully serving God.

Do you have a friend like that who encourages you and freely shares wisdom with you? Hang onto them!

“And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 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 2:36-38 (ESV)

This woman was dedicated! What an incredible heart and passion she had for the Lord! Though her husband died, she wasn’t angry with God, she didn’t distance herself from him, and she didn’t run away to sink into her pain. Over the years, she had been able to work through the trauma and loss, and was able to call him good and see him as the one worthy of all praise and adoration.

If you’ve experienced loss of some sort, let me say that I’m sorry that you’ve been through that. Heartbreak sucks, period. But God is still good and he is still God.

If it doesn’t seem like it to you right now, that’s okay, he can handle that.
If you’re angry at him, that’s okay, just don’t stay there, work through those emotions.
If you’re struggling with the idea of God, that’s okay, I’m so proud of you for searching.

I hope that I am becoming more and more like Anna every day, but I know for certain that I have a long way to go. When things get hard, I tend to isolate myself and run from everyone including God. I mourn in isolation, lick my wounds away from prying eyes, and try my best to take matters into my own hands instead of trusting. But I know I’m better at trusting God than I was yesterday and I hope that tomorrow I will be better than I am today.

No matter how you’re feeling today, I encourage you to take that thing to God. Anna is an incredible example that, in the face of incredible loss, God is still good and still worthy of being praised.

To go Deeper: Read Unnamed Women of the Bible, God is Still on the Throne
Check out His Story: A Devotional on the Character of God,
A Proverb A Day

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