Lessons on Faith from Matthew 15:21-28
By Kelly Mowrer
Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
Matthew 15:21-28 (New International Version)
Recently I read this passage and started making a list summarizing the lessons I want to learn from this story and start putting into better practice in my own life whenever anything causes me anxiety or worry:
1) Pray, pray, pray - be serious about repeating my request. Don't figure, "well, He heard me the first time." Just keep asking;
2) When I get only silence in response to my urgent repeated requests, then pursue Him, worship Him; fall down at His feet--drop everything to focus on Him, be poured out before Him, pleading;
3) Faith keeps asking even when there's no sign that God is even listening (He answered her not a word);
4) Faith worships while waiting for the answer (she's worshiping in the face of His silence);
5) Faith pleads for others--faith focuses every shred of attention on pleading for help for someone they love (even if the person they're pleading for doesn't realize how desperate their situation is or appreciate that someone is pleading to God for them);
6) Faith has a large picture of God--no limits to His resources, no limits on His ability, no limits on His goodness, and no limits on His approachability (all she wanted was a crumb of God--her need was the greatest imaginable--to have her daughter healed of demon possession. Yet her view of God was so large, she only needed a "crumb of God" to have her daughter healed);
7) Faith expects answers based simply on God's character (she agreed with the rebuff of Jesus that it wasn't right for dogs to eat the food of the children; "Truth, Lord." She agreed--and then she argued, but she didn't argue that she wasn't a dog, or that her case was worthy; she argued that God had such large provision for His children that He certainly wouldn't refrain from following the custom of allowing the dogs to eat crumbs around the family table; God's table was over-flowing in her view--all she wanted was the crumb and she knew He would be the kind of generous master who would allow the dogs to eat. She had a large picture of God's ability and God's goodness; and
8) Her persistence, and her view of God, was the expression of her faith. And her request was granted.
© Live at the Well.
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Live at the Well.
Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By Kelly Mowrer. © Live at the Well.
Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
Matthew 15:21-28 (New International Version)
Recently I read this passage and started making a list summarizing the lessons I want to learn from this story and start putting into better practice in my own life whenever anything causes me anxiety or worry:
1) Pray, pray, pray - be serious about repeating my request. Don't figure, "well, He heard me the first time." Just keep asking;
2) When I get only silence in response to my urgent repeated requests, then pursue Him, worship Him; fall down at His feet--drop everything to focus on Him, be poured out before Him, pleading;
3) Faith keeps asking even when there's no sign that God is even listening (He answered her not a word);
4) Faith worships while waiting for the answer (she's worshiping in the face of His silence);
5) Faith pleads for others--faith focuses every shred of attention on pleading for help for someone they love (even if the person they're pleading for doesn't realize how desperate their situation is or appreciate that someone is pleading to God for them);
6) Faith has a large picture of God--no limits to His resources, no limits on His ability, no limits on His goodness, and no limits on His approachability (all she wanted was a crumb of God--her need was the greatest imaginable--to have her daughter healed of demon possession. Yet her view of God was so large, she only needed a "crumb of God" to have her daughter healed);
7) Faith expects answers based simply on God's character (she agreed with the rebuff of Jesus that it wasn't right for dogs to eat the food of the children; "Truth, Lord." She agreed--and then she argued, but she didn't argue that she wasn't a dog, or that her case was worthy; she argued that God had such large provision for His children that He certainly wouldn't refrain from following the custom of allowing the dogs to eat crumbs around the family table; God's table was over-flowing in her view--all she wanted was the crumb and she knew He would be the kind of generous master who would allow the dogs to eat. She had a large picture of God's ability and God's goodness; and
8) Her persistence, and her view of God, was the expression of her faith. And her request was granted.
© Live at the Well.
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Live at the Well.
Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By Kelly Mowrer. © Live at the Well.