August 20, 2017 Text: Matthew 15:21-28
Dear Friends in Christ,
One subject that we all have an opinion about is parenting. And the reason for that is because we are parents or we have had parents. We’ve experienced the good and bad and form our thoughts. You know how I feel about being a parent but my experience might be different than yours.
One thing we probably do agree on is the care of our child. When they were sick when they were younger, especially in the middle of the night, you agonized over whether to take them to the emergency room or medicate them at home. Not an easy question but certainly easier than what the Canaanite woman faces in our text
Her daughter is possessed by a demon. Emergency rooms don’t quite have the answers for that. If you have a child that is physically or mentally challenged you know how you agonize over their care. What should I be doing? Lord, please give me some answers. Where should we be turning . . .
“WHEN LIFE DOESN’T WORK THE WAY YOU THINK IT SHOULD”
It’s a wall we run into quite frequently, isn’t it? When life doesn’t work the way you think it should. The facts are these: Change and disappointment and heartache are familiar scenarios. They make up those moments we find ourselves “up against a wall.”
The Canaanite woman is “up against a wall” with her daughter. She is desperate for help. She has probably sought help and not received it but she does not give up hope.
She turns to Jesus for help and hope. She seems to be a God-fearing person by the way she addresses the Savior. “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David.” But she doesn’t expect help because she is a Canaanite, ancient enemies of the Israelites. Jesus has come to the region for rest. The disciples want to turn her away.
Jesus responds by testing her faith. He seems a little cool to her request when he says he was only sent for the “lost sheep of Israel” and he should not take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs. “Dogs” is a reference to the non-Jew, which this lady certainly is. Why is Jesus treating her this way?
Do you ever feel like the Lord is treating you like a dog? Run here and there and everywhere chasing your tail until you spin out of control. Like Norm said on Cheers, “It’s a dog-eat-dog world and I’m wearing Milk-Bone underwear!” We laugh because it’s true. We pursue the things of this world that end up biting us in the backside. Why isn’t life working out the way I think it should?
The mother could have had that pity party right there in Tyre and Sidon but she didn’t. She stayed persistent in her humble and confident faith. She seems to understand the point Jesus is making but she is more than willing to settle for a few crumbs from the master’s table. She believes it would take just a few crumbs of His power and kindness to make her daughter whole again.
Of this situation it has been said, “…as Jesus looked on the woman, He did not see her as an interloper as did the disciples – an unwelcome intruder on His time and energy. Rather, he saw her as a woman of great personal faith, and His conversation with her was designed to test that faith . . .”
She passed. “’O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.” (v. 28)
The Lord tests our faith when life isn’t going the way we think it should. He may be silent for a time. He may be waiting for the right time to respond. He may be strengthening our faith. He wants us to be persistent in faith and prayer and to know His mercy and help. He often speaks in the midst of silence.
The silence of His miracles. The silence before His accusers. His silence on the way to the cross. His silence that was finally broken with, “It is finished.” His silence when He came out of the grave. His silence when He forgives and loves and heals. “Have mercy on Me, O Lord.”
Several years ago the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association sponsored a hymn-writing contest. One entry that never won a prize and probably never made it into any hymnal was entitled “God’s Grip Don’t Slip.” That is not good grammar, but the message is clear. No one can snatch us from the grip of our loving and powerful Savior. Jesus has rescued us from the grip of Satan through His perfect life, victorious death, and triumphant resurrection. We are safe and secure in His almighty grip, now and forever.
We live in confidence with the assurance that “God’s grip won’t slip.” He will never let go of us even when life doesn’t work the way we think it should.
Amen.