A Widow with a Purpose

      By Fern Horst

"And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem." (Luke 2:36-37)

A woman widowed at a young age, Anna had known what it was like to be married. She had known the security of having a husband and the companionship of a spouse. She had lived the "normal" life of a married woman.

But as all widows, widowers and divorcees have experienced, life as she knew it came to an end. We don't know if her husband died suddenly or after an illness. Either way it appears to be an untimely death. A wife of only seven years doesn't expect her wifely role to end so soon. Certainly widowhood was a disappointment to Anna.

We all know what disappointment feels like. Disappointment is a feeling of sadness that results when our expectations or desires are not realized – when our hopes or dreams are dashed. The depth of our disappointment is usually in direct proportion to the depth of our hopes, desires and expectations.

It is at these times of disappointment that we have a choice. We can choose to be discouraged and despondent the rest of our lives, or we can choose to embrace the life we now have.

Anna seems to have chosen the latter. Though she may now have felt empty in areas she had previously felt fulfilled, she was now free to do what married women of her day were not able to do: serve the Lord as a prophetess in the temple "with fastings, and prayers night and day."

It is likely that in her new role she took on a new hope and expectation. As a Jewish prophetess she was well aware that God had promised a Messiah. She now had time to study the Scriptures and the writings of the prophets. All that the prophets wrote made it seem evident that the time was ripe for the Messiah to come. Probably more than others, because of her role in the temple, Anna was watching eagerly for Him.

God gave her the wonderful blessing of being present the day that Joseph and Mary brought the baby Jesus to the temple. After Simeon had blessed him, Anna too gave thanks to the Lord for the fulfillment of His promise. And then her life took on a new purpose: that of telling "all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem" that the Messiah had been born!

Anna's life wasn't the typical life of a Jewish woman, nor was it likely the life she had expected as a young woman. But when disappointment came she made the choice to turn this drastic change in her life into one of purpose and service to the Lord. In the end God rewarded her life of faithfulness and service with the blessing of seeing the Messiah.

Her life story is told in two short verses in the Bible, but it stands as a vivid example to all who have experienced a drastic life change or the dashing of their dreams. God can indeed turn a time of mourning into a life of joy and praise when we make the choice to turn our disappointments into service to Him.

"To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified." (Isaiah 61:3)

© 2007 Fern Horst

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