If you go to church, you seek to do the right things, and you are saved, you may say with complete confidence what you would do, but I don't know. I cannot truthfully give an answer. I have tendencies to be most like Peter in the Bible and even he denied Jesus three times! He ate with the LORD, and Jesus even washed his feet!!! How can I assume I would be different?
The Bible says that Jesus came shining His magnificent light into this dark, vile world and it didn't even understand it! The dark world ignored the best gift God could ever give. They didn't comprehend what was taking place. John 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
What if you were in the days when Jesus was alive and working miracles. Let's say you had a daughter and she was full of the devil. You love your daughter and you cannot stand to see what the enemy is doing to her. You may have tried all kinds of methods to cure her but things get worse instead of better. Then someone tells you about a man named Jesus. Maybe it was the blind man that He healed, or a leper He had cleansed. You start to feel hope well up in your spirit and you look for Him. You want to ask Him to help you. But there is a problem. You are not one of the chosen people. Will He ignore you? Will He make time to listen to you? How will you get close enough to even ask Him what you need? But you are desperate to find help for your daughter that you love so much. You have to try!
Matthew 15:21-28
21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
She is crying out to Him for mercy and deliverance for her daughter. Jesus does not answer her. She has to cry louder. Perhaps He did not hear her. The disciples are blocking her. They want Jesus to send her away. She is getting on their nerves. Sometimes the religious people can be the ones with the least compassion. They don't care what she wants. They are annoyed and want her gone. Jesus however, even though He had remained silent, chooses to speak to her in front of the disciples but He does not immediately banish her from His presence. Watch this:
24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
He tells her that His mission is to save the lost people in Israel. She doesn't belong in a category that He came for. Does she give up? Does she lose heart? Is her hope gone? No! She worships Him! If you do not get the answer you want from the LORD, do you worship Him and ask Him to help you? Do you get mad and gripe and pout and complain? She worshipped Him. That had to get His attention and she needs help for her daughter, so she is going to have no shame in begging Him for help!
26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
She isn't even upset or offended when Jesus called her a dog! Watch this. He said it wasn't right for Him to take away something meant for the children of Israel and give it to someone like.... someone like ME! Someone like YOU if you are not a Jew. But she still doesn't give up! She still presses on and says, "You're right! I know you are right and that is true, but don't the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the Master's table?" In other words, if there is something that happens to fall by the wayside, can't I just have a little bit? I don't want much...it isn't even for me. Can I just have a crumb of a blessing?
28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
Just like that, from her faith in what Jesus can do, that never wavered, but was firm and sure, He was impressed! He told her how much faith she had! Remember how He has said time and time again to the disciples, "Where is your faith? Ye, of little faith." And here He is letting everyone know that He sees her faith and He is going to do what she asked of Him and she doesn't even have to wait for an answer. Immediately the daughter was healed and complete. It was gone!!
The pain and the torment the girl had suffered left her the moment Jesus spoke the words to her mother. He could have walked on and said no. He could have ignored her cries and gave in to the disciples plea that the LORD send her away, but He didn't. He was moved by her faith and persistence and sometimes that is all that you and I have to have.
What are you asking the LORD for? Are you afraid to ask? Just talk to Him. He will do so many wonderful things for you!! We are now engrafted in and we have been adopted so that we are His children and we can have those blessings, too.
God bless you!
~Bridgett Owens
