DON'T GIVE UP

DONT GIVE UP

In Matthew 15:21-28, The Canaanite woman came to Jesus for her miracle but being a Canaanite, was therefore still under a curse placed on Canaan by Noah In Genesis 9:25 “And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren” In verse 22 It is recorded that the woman came out to the same coast of Tyre and Sidon where Jesus was. If Jesus had not made himself available, the woman would not have an opportunity for the deliverance. Jacob wrestled with God till breaking of day because God made himself available at that time. The beginning of the mercy of God is when Jesus appears in a situation. Jesus went to the coast for that woman, but even at that there is a process. He makes himself available but sometimes we do not follow through the process of getting the miracle. If there is anything that Jesus came for it is to destroy the works of the devil 1 John 3:8 “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”. Before now, Jesus had gotten requests that do not matter, the Canaanite woman’s case is exactly what Jesus came for, to destroy the works of the devil. The woman said, “Jesus thou son of David have mercy on me”, this is what every other person says, and Jesus will help them.  

Blind Bartimaeus said the same thing in Mark 10:46-52 and got his miracle. The woman did not make a request for material things but that the works of the devil over her daughter ends, then why did Jesus not answer her immediately. 

The request and the problem looked okay for Jesus to answer but Jesus was silent. The woman had come to the only source of help, but Jesus was silent. We cannot tell for how long he was silent, there are records of psalms when God was silent in Psalm 83:1 and Psalm 13:1. There are times we feel that even negative answer is better than silence. “How long” is the most frequent question in the book of Psalms and It is at this point that a lot of people take offense. In vs 23, “And his disciples came and besought him, saying, send her away; for she crieth after us”, her cry had become an embarrassment to the disciples. The disciple’s reaction could have been enough for the woman to “give up”. It also tells us that even close to the time of miracles even among brethren discouragement could come to drive you away from your miracle. Jesus said to the woman that he is sent only to the lost sheep of Israel, but still did not send her away. It was a “process” he was taking her through.

The process

1.       Hebrews 10:36 says that after doing the will of God, you still need patience in order to receive what he has promised. Heb 10:39 says we should not shrink back and be destroyed but to have faith and be saved.

2.       Even when it seems you hear a voice telling you that it may not be your destiny to get that blessing, you need to still persevere like the Canaanite woman.

3.       She came nearer and worshiped Jesus saying “Lord help me” vs 25. 

      It is one thing to come near, it is another thing to worship. There are wonders in worship, the Israelites worshiped God at different points in time and experienced the mighty power of God.

4.       When she shouted “Son of David” in vs 22 she did not get answers but when she called “Lord help me” in vs 25 Jesus replied. Acknowledging Jesus as Lord over you will bring him to help you. When Peter was drowning in he prayed “Lord save me” and Jesus answered.

5.       Matthew 7:6 had excluded some people called dogs and pigs from the promise of Matthew 7:7 which says “Ask and it shall be given unto you...”. Jesus answered the woman in vs 26 that he cannot take the children’s bread and give it to dogs., but her faith made her say in vs 27 “Yet the dogs eat of crumbs from their masters table”. Because she believed that even the dogs have a relationship with their master. She believed that what can be classified as crumbs will heal her daughter.

6.       She was able to negotiate and argue her case with humility and did not take offense. Defeating arguments posed by the devil takes humility and perseverance.

In verse 28, Jesus acknowledged that great is the woman’s faith. The men of title(Leaders) may not be the ones with great faith. That it has not happened before does not mean that God cannot do it for you. If the woman had given up or taken offence, what hope could she hold on to. Where else could she have gone to. We have to humble ourselves before God with the mindset that we would not give up. The things that work for some other people may not work for us. 

It is only when we are born again that our cry for help or even our worship will be accept. Say the prayer below to become born again.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, please forgive me all my sins and cleanse me from all my unrighteousness. I accept you as my personal Lord and Savior. Please hear my cry when i call upon thee for help in Jesus name. Amen

 Minister: Samuel Oguta