Jesus Said No!

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Jesus left and went to the territory near the cities of Tyre and Sidon.  Suddenly a Canaanite woman from there came out shouting, “Lord and Son of David, have pity on me! My daughter is full of demons.”

Jesus did not say a word. But the woman kept following along and shouting, so his disciples came up and asked him to send her away.

Jesus said, “I was sent only to the people of Israel! They are like a flock of lost sheep.”

The woman came closer. Then she knelt down and begged, “Please help me, Lord!”

Jesus replied, “It isn’t right to take food away from children and feed it to dogs.”

“Lord, that’s true,” the woman said, “but even dogs get the crumbs that fall from their owner’s table.”

Jesus answered, “Dear woman, you really do have a lot of faith, and you will be given what you want.” At that moment her daughter was healed.

Matthew 15:21-28

How does this story apply to my faith today?  The Canaanite woman asked Jesus for something that He said was not right to do. Jesus said "No" two times, but she kept coming back with words of trust in His power to help.

I suppose this point could be debated, but the woman asked Jesus for something that was not according to His will and she got it. Her faith in Jesus trumped her theological correctness.

We spend so much time trying to make sure our theology is correct and then trust Jesus within the bounds of that truth. In a sense we want to understand Jesus first and then trust Him later. Some of us never get around to trusting Jesus at all, we just keep on striving for a better understanding.

So here is the lesson of the Canaanite woman's faith. Trust Jesus beyond your understanding. Let your love for Jesus push you outside of the box and into the realm of totally abandoned faith.  Jesus will meet you there!