Love God 4

Matthew 15:25-28

When I applied for a position as a corporate trainer I felt very confident about the opportunity. I knew I would make a great trainer. But the manager who interviewed me disagreed and told me she did not intend to hire me.

After a moment of disappointment my wife told me to call her back and convince her that I was the person for the job. I called back, politely explained that I was truly qualified for the position, and challenged her to give me a chance to demonstrate my skills.

I got the job.

Continuing with the story of the Canaanite woman, we have seen that her daughter is suffering from demon possession. But Jesus has ignored her calls for help. What does the woman do in verse 25? How does Jesus respond? What ultimately causes Jesus to give the healing requested?

Jesus healed the woman’s daughter because she exhibited great faith. She was persistent in her pursuit of a response from Jesus. She did not give up easily, but pushed forward until she achieved what she desired.

We may find ourselves in a desperate situation. We need help. We need God’s blessings and guidance and strength.

We may turn to the Lord for help, but then we may feel that we have been ignored because God has not responded immediately. We need to have the perseverance of our faith, the ability to accept where we are and press forward to see the changes we want to have happen. We must be willing to be like the Canaanite woman and dare to press God for His presence in our lives.

Perseverance goes beyond waiting. Perseverance implies action on our part. When we see what needs to change – in ourselves, in our world, in our faith – perseverance calls us to make those changes. It may happen quickly. It may take years. But the faithful believer who has perseverance will constantly work toward improving God’s kingdom.

We also need perseverance with ourselves. We must constantly and patiently move on in our faith to become better Christians.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What needs to be better about your faith?

Church Goes Out 4

Matthew 15:25-28

Our two oldest children are looking for a job. We have been spending time helping to direct them and guide them in the process. We have also shared our experience with job searches to help them along their way.

One of the keys that is hard to internalize is the persistence you need when applying for jobs. I believe that at least one of my jobs was given to me just so that I would stop calling and bothering them.

If we can be that dogged in our job searches, then we can also be that persistent in living out our faith. After all, our faith is much more important than our work.

In Matthew we have an account of a woman who will not leave Jesus alone. While traveling Jesus encounters a Canaanite woman. Such a label means that the woman was not Jewish, but Samaritan – an enemy of the Jews. She asks for healing for her demon-possessed daughter, but Jesus ignores her.

What does the woman do? How does Jesus respond in verse 26? What does the woman’s comment in verse 27 tell us about her? What does Jesus finally do?

It can be a bit shocking to hear Jesus make such disparaging comments to the Canaanite woman. He ignores her. He lets her know she is not part of his flock. And then he basically calls her a dog.

But none of this discourages the woman and she persists in her requests for healing for her daughter. Some say that it was her willingness to accept the insult of being called a dog (verse 27) that made Jesus more willing to help. But I believe it is her continued and persistent faith that did it.

No matter how much she was ignored and insulted, her daughter’s healing was the most important thing on her mind and she would not allow anything to deter her. That example of faith impressed Jesus.

And so we have an example for ourselves. If an outsider, someone not of Jesus’ flock, can demonstrate extreme faith, then why can’t we?

This woman’s faith serves as an example to each of us. We should be willing and able to live out our faith, to go out into the world, to overcome challenges and difficulties, with a powerful faith that allows us to be persistent in serving God.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How strong is your faith?