Age is not a hindrance for us to turn to God
Tragedies are not an excuse for us to give up on life and to turn away from God.
Contrary to popular opinion, Anna was not an old lady when she turned to God with all her heart.
Scholars believed that she was married at 14 but only stayed married for 7 years. At 21, her husband died leaving her without:
1. emotional support
2. financial security
3. human companionship
4. love of a man
She was widowed for over 84 years. She was also left without a child or any inheritance.
In Luke she was mentioned as a widow of 84 years:
Luke 2:36 - 37
"Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with her husband, seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty four years, who did not depart from the temple but served God with fastings and prayers night and day."
Age is just a number
I always thought of Anna as a very old women. Some scholars believed that she was more than 84 years old! This was because in those days, the ladies married young. The marriageable age was around 14 years or so. If she had been married for 7 years and was a widow for 84 years then Anna at the time of the birth of Christ was actually 105 years old! 14 + 7 + 84 = 105. This is what scholars believed to be the actual age of Anna.
But we are mistaken if we think that the story of Anna should only be preached to old ladies!
This story is not just about an old lady but it is about a young lady as well. Don't forget Anna entered the widowhood at a young age. When and where did she enter the temple (much like a nun taking the vow of singlehood) we were not told but what we do know is that she never got married after her husband died.
Age is not a hindrance to a life of prayer & fasting
Assuming that she decided to give her life to serving God (going full time) at 21 years, this would mean that she would have clocked in a total of 63 years of prayer and fastings night and day! Is it possible in those day and age? 84 - 21 = 63 years! I believe that it is.
If you recall the video that was sent to us via whatsapp about a South Korean church who prayed for over 60 years for North Korea with thousands turning up to pray every morning at 6:30 am at the church such a thing is indeed possible! How about our pastor who has prayed at the morning watches for the past 19 years! And some of us has only just started the morning watches! Is it possible for a person to have been living a fasted life for 60 plus years? It is certainly possible.
Why did Anna choose to live her life in this manner? Why did she not hope to marry again? She obviously had nothing to inherit. Her husband left her no property, no children and no inheritance. Even if he had, she made a conscious decision to give it all up for a consecrated life.
Overcoming tragedies with the help of the Lord
Did she suffer a tragedy to start with? Imagine the joy of being married, of looking forward to settle down and to have children, of looking forward to many years of human companionship, emotional support, financial security, emotional security in the form of the love of a man to have it all snatched away in a short span of 7 years. How did Anna feel?
Maybe she felt the reproach, the shame, the hatred of her in-laws and society. Maybe they saw her as someone who had brought tragedy to the family. In those days superstitious people would blame the woman for being the cause of her husband's untimely death and looked upon her with disdain.
I believe that it was a tragedy for Anna at her young age. Death is never a joyful occasion for any of us. To have someone you love snatched away from you at an early age is just too devastating. With the death of the man, came the loss of any hope of financial security, emotional support and the love of a man.
Years ago, I remembered a famous judge whose wife he loved dearly died at a very young age. He committed suicide soon after that because he loved her too much. What about Lee Kuan Yew? He loved his wife so much that she died he became a different person. She was his other half or even his better half. Without her, he felt so incomplete and his health deteriorated from there on. All he could hoped for was to be reunited with her in death. He even asked for his ashes to be mixed with hers.
What about my friend and sister, Lata Lincoln. How did she cope in the face of the death of Abraham, her husband? She emerged triumphant and did not allow this to affect her ministry. Till today she is still actively serving God, feeding the orphans and widows and going about planting churches.
Anna must have been traumatised by the death of her husband. But she overcame it by turning to God with all her heart. She decided to find solace, love, comfort and companionship in God and God alone.
Triumph in the face of tragedy starts in the mind
The admirable thing about Anna was this - she did not let depression or sadness over her husband's death stay on her for long. She made the most important decision - to give her life wholly to Jesus and to go full time in serving the Lord in prayer and fastings! In the process she overcame all feelings of depression, shame or loss.
This is her greatest triumph in the face of tragedy. It is not so much her years of serving God in prayer and fastings but it has to do with the decision she made not to allow tragedy to make her give up on life!
We too can learn from Anna in this matter. Every tragedy has a silver lining. Every tragedy has a triumphant ending. Every tragedy will bring us into something good and a better tomorrow. Every tragedy will make us a better person.
The moment we have such a mindset, we are already triumphant in the face of our tragedies.
Never mind if the tragedy is still there, indeed such a fact can never be changed as what has happened in our lives has happened but what we can change is how we are going to react to it!
May every tragedy in our lives be it financial, death of a loved one, sickness, infirmity or loss of material possessions or our accomplishments or achievements in life be turned into many moments of triumph for us!
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