PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF"

Good Evening to All!

And behold a woman from Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed." (23) But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him saying, "Send her away, fore she cries out after us." (24) But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

(25) Then she came and worshiped Him saying, "Lord, help me!" (26) But He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." (27) And she said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little doges eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." (28) Then Jesus answered and said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

We have to remember that this was a Gentile woman, who had no natural claims on the Jewish Messiah, as this was before The Early Church (in Acts) was started, and before the Lord sent Paul to preach to the Gentiles, so His position was to preach and teach to the people of Israel, whom He called lost sheep.

This kind of reminds me of a child who desires something so badly from his parents that he won't give them any peace until he gets it. Every few minutes it's "can I have this? When can I get this? Is it time to go to the store yet? I want this. A constant barrage of I want, can I have, when. They WILL NOT LET UP until they get what they want.

Another example is someone like me. I'm the same way even today as an adult. If my hubby says we're going to do something, I keep after him until we do it. If he says I can buy something, I will constantly talk about it until I get it. Now granted, that is not a pretty trait in this instance, but when it comes to desiring something from God, that is a different story. He wants us to be persistent.

The Gentile woman realized that Jesus and His disciples knew that she was not an Israelite, not one of God's "chosen" people, so she became bolder. She knelt and worshipped Jesus. She realized that she needed to let Him see that she recognized His deity, who He was. That she KNEW He had the power of God to heal her daughter.

He tried to explain to her that His mission was to the Israelites, so He couldn't help her, or "give her bread". He actually called her a "dog". A term Jews used to refer to Gentiles. Even so, rather than getting upset at what He said, she responded quickly by saying that masters gave dogs scraps from the table; and a scrap would be enough for her. By expressing herself this way, she was acknowledging Jesus as her master, her God. Then he granted her request and commended her faith.

If she would have given up when she heard Jesus and His disciples conversation about her, her daughter would have not been healed. A mother's duty is to go to any length, do what she must do to save her child, even if it means being insulted in the process. At the same time, she may not have considered it an insult. Jesus might have just been a very blunt and matter of fact person. Just like the time He asked His mother, "Woman, what have I to do with thee?

The thing is she kept persisting on Him helping her daughter, and He finally accommodated her.

We need to do the same. Be persistent in your prayers, let Him know you aren't going to give up until your prayers are answered. Be BOLD, Stand your Ground. Remember Jacob? He wrestled with "God" all night, saying He wouldn't let go until God blessed Him. That's faith, that's persistence. He even held his ground after the angel hurt his thigh (touched the hollow of his thigh). That's persistence. If we give up after asking a couple of times, we must not desire what ever it is very bad.

Another example the Lady with the issue of blood. She pushed her way through the crowd just to touch the hem of His garment. That's persistence. She was healed, because she showed her faith.




Good Night to All, and May God Bless