The encounters God gives us in our lives

are never by chance!

“There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:36–38).

As I meditate on this passage, I wish to receive the lesson it gives:

(1)    When I meditate on this word, I become interested in the encounters the Lord arranged within the Jerusalem temple.  When Simeon, moved by the Spirit, went into the temple courts, the parents of the baby Jesus brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required (Lk. 2:27).  That was how Simeon met the baby Jesus.  Likewise, “at that very moment,” the elderly prophetess Anna also entered the temple and met the baby Jesus (vv. 36–38).  Was this meeting a coincidence?

(a)    I do not believe so.  Simeon and Anna’s meeting with the baby Jesus was not a coincidence but a divine appointment.  It was the Sovereign Lord (v. 29) who led Simeon and Anna to meet the baby Jesus.

(i)                 In Ecclesiastes 9:11, Scripture says, “But time and chance happen to them all.”  However, the Korean rendering “chance” is, according to scholar Yoon-sun Park, a mistranslation, because for Christians who believe in God’s sovereignty, there is no such thing as “chance.”  Everything happens under God’s sovereign providence; nothing occurs by mere coincidence.

·         We believe that all things are accomplished according to God’s sovereign will.  That is why I personally do not use the phrase “Good luck.”  In the modern Korean Revised Version, Ecclesiastes 9:11 is translated, “... for time and opportunity happen to them all.”  This rendering, “opportunity,” is much more fitting, because it better conveys divine providence rather than randomness.

(ii)               In a devotional I wrote on November 10, 2010, titled “A Meeting of Prayer” (Acts 16:16), I said:

·         “In our life journey, we experience encounters that seem good to us and others that do not.  The good ones bring joy and benefit; the bad ones cause pain and seem fruitless.  But how does God view them?

-          Personally, I believe that none of our encounters in life are accidental.  Every meeting is permitted by God within His sovereign plan.  Each has a divine purpose, even if we cannot yet see it.

n  When we faithfully live out our encounters in the Lord, God unfolds His will and allows us to behold His glory.”

(iii)             The Sovereign Lord (Lk. 2:29) led Simeon, a righteous and devout man in Jerusalem (v. 25), by the Holy Spirit into the temple at the very moment when the parents brought in the child Jesus for the purification ceremony.  This encounter fulfilled the revelation Simeon had received from the Spirit—that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.

·         Therefore, when Simeon held the baby Jesus in his arms, he praised God saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.” (v. 29)

-          In other words, Simeon could face death peacefully because God’s promise had been fulfilled; his life’s mission was complete, and his heart overflowed with thanksgiving and peace.

(iv)              In the case of Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, from the tribe of Asher, who had lived with her husband for seven years and remained a widow until the age of eighty-four, never leaving the temple but serving night and day with fasting and prayer (vv. 36–37)—the Lord led her “at that very moment” into the temple to meet the baby Jesus (v. 38).  God’s purpose was for her to “give thanks to God and speak about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.”

·         Interestingly, the name Phanuel (or Penuel) comes from the place where Jacob wrestled with the angel of God and said, “I have seen God face to face” (Gen. 32:30); the name means “face of God.”  And Anna corresponds to the Hebrew name Hannah—the name of Samuel’s mother (1 Sam. 1:2)—a devout woman of prayer and faith, like the prophetesses Deborah (Judg. 4:4) and Huldah (2 Kgs. 22:14) (Hoekma).

-          Given the marriage customs of the time, Anna likely married around age 14.  Having been married 7 years and then widowed for 84, she would have been about 105 years old.  Yet even in her old age, she faithfully served with fasting and prayer, demonstrating a life of total devotion and longing for the redemption of Israel—the coming Messiah.

n  When she “spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem” (v. 38), her words echoed the praise of Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, who said: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them” (Lk. 1:68).  It also harmonizes with Simeon’s longing for “the consolation of Israel” (2:25) and the prophetic hope in Isaiah 52:9—“Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.”

n  Thus, the baby Jesus whom the prophetess Anna spoke about (Lk. 2:38) is “the Lord’s Christ” (v. 26), “the consolation of Israel” (v. 25)—the one through whom God visited His people to comfort and redeem them by His death on the cross.

(2)    As I conclude this meditation, I am reminded of the gospel song “Our Meeting Is by the Lord’s Grace”: (v. 1) “Our meeting is by the Lord’s grace; our gathering is the Lord’s blessing.  We were created for the glory of God—make us faithful for Your kingdom, O Lord.  (v. 2) Lead all that we are, O Lord; we offer everything to You.  O my Father God, let us live according to Your will.  (Refrain) O Lord, always guide our calling; O Lord, always guide our calling.”

(a)    I also reread a piece I wrote on April 14, 2019, titled “The Lord Never Wastes Our Encounters.” 

(i)                 It says: “We should desire not the meetings we want, but the ones God grants us, because the meetings God gives or allows in our lives are never accidental—they always have His good, pleasing, and perfect will (Rom. 12:2).  Every meeting is for our good (1 Sam. 22:3).”

·         Perhaps God allows us,

like David, to meet the distressed, the indebted, and the discontented (1 Sam. 22:2),

or, like Job, to learn that only the Holy Spirit is our true Comforter (Job 16:2; Jn. 14:16);

or, like Hannah, to pour out our bitterness to God amid misunderstanding (1 Sam. 1:10–16);

or, like Gideon, to gain assurance through unexpected encounters (Judg. 7:9–15);

or, like Jonah, to be rebuked and led to repentance through unbelievers (Jonah 1:6–12);

or, like Naomi, to find joy through a daughter-in-law like Ruth (Ruth 4:13–17);

or, like Joseph, to experience suffering and injustice that ultimately lead to reconciliation and salvation (Gen. 45:5; 50:20–21).

As we meditate on Scripture, we come to believe this truth: God never wastes any encounter.  Every meeting is woven into His sovereign plan to accomplish His good, pleasing, and perfect will for us.