Scripture:
“They had hardly arrived when a Canaanite woman came down from the hills and pleaded, ‘Mercy, Master, Son of David! My daughter is cruelly afflicted by an evil spirit.’ Jesus ignored her. The disciples came and complained, ‘Now she’s bothering us. Would you please take care of her? She’s driving us crazy.’ Jesus refused, telling them, ‘I’ve got my hands full dealing with the lost sheep of Israel.’ Then the woman came back to Jesus, went to her knees, and begged. ‘Master, help me.’ He said, ‘It’s not right to take bread out of children’s mouths and throw it to dogs.’ She was quick: ‘You’re right, Master, but beggar dogs do get scraps from the master’s table.’ Jesus gave in. ‘Oh, woman, your faith is something else. What you want is what you get!’ Right then her daughter became well.” Matthew 15:22-28
Perspective:
“Are we there yet?” is the most common question of children on trips. You can explain how long it will be to the designated location, but the question tends to plague their minds. Surely five minutes in the car would be long enough! The question is usually on repeat until you arrive at the destination.
A woman’s voice was on repeat with a single request. She needed Jesus to bring restoration to her daughter. She kept asking Jesus to help her, even though he didn’t answer the first time. She asked the disciples so many times to help her daughter that they were annoyed. Jesus was blown away by her faith. According to this woman’s faith, her request was granted. In the same way, it can be difficult to persevere and ask God for the same answer multiple times. We bring our challenge to God a couple of times, don’t see an immediate answer, and give up. There is something significant about praying until you get an answer. We have to let our continual commitment to pray for our needs build our faith, not deplete it. We can’t come to God with our request over and over again for a job with an attitude that he may or may not help. Each time we bring the challenge before Jesus, the attitude of the heart has to believe that God is working despite visible results. As our faith and expectation rise, God will be faithful to help us in our times of need.
