It can be the most heartbreaking thing to endure, when life is falling apart, a miracle is desperately needed and God is seemingly silent.
I have often wrestled with a certain passage of scripture because the whole scene doesn't make sense to me, truthfully it still doesn't make sense to me. . . and honestly many times God's silence does not make sense to me. I know that God not only CAN answer my prayers but WANTS TOO answer them...so why the silence?
I may not be able to answer that question this morning but I do want to share a person's response in God's silence to help encourage us and even challenge us a bit. Here are a few points that jump out at me.
Matt 15:22-28 is the story of a Canaanite woman asking Jesus to heal her demon possessed daughter.
Ditch the self-pity
This woman didn't wail on and on about how terrible life was, and how bad things were. She didn't sit listing event after event of things that had happened because of her demon possessed daughter. She didn't sulk about how unfair it was that her daughter was demon possessed. She didn't try manipulate Jesus with her pain and despair [as real and true as they were]. But what she did do was persistently ask Jesus for help.
Be Honest
She didn't fake it, pretend all was well and call it faith. She didn't lie and say the healing was already done. She was open in her request and stated the facts. As I said before she didn't lament in self-pity when approaching Jesus, but she also didn't pretend the issue wasn't there. She was honest and open in sharing the facts. My daughter is demon possessed and it afflicts her severely. How often do we approach God with a lie, and call it faith. Professing that we are healed when we aren't yet? God knows our bodies. God knows our situations. He isn't scared of us approaching in truth and saying, this is what is going on, please help. We don't have to fake it, in pretense of faith in the hope to twist His arm to do it.
She was persistent
She did not give up. She overcame culture to push in for help. in those days a non-Jewish woman approaching a Jewish man was against culture. It was taboo. But she took the risk of punishment, ridicule and rejection because she was desperate. Now imagine this, she has overcome all these cultural barricades, and gathered her faith and her courage whilst trying to silence her fears that her daughter would be like this forever and she has approached Jesus, the only solution and His response....silence....
I would have burst into tears or walked away ashamed.
Jesus did not answer. not a word. [vs 23]. Stop and think about your responses when God seems silent? But this woman didn't give up. She kept asking. She didn't get angry or vent at God. She didn't fall into self-pity. She kept asking. Her persistence attracting the attention of the disciples and they begged Jesus to send her away. but even in the face of rejection and other pressurizing her to give up, she kept on asking. Jesus then appears to say no. I don't even have to ask you to imagine this. We have all had moments when God appears silent or appears to say no. And sometimes, God does say no. And our worlds are rocked and crumble beneath us. We all know what this desperate woman would be feeling in this situation. But her response.....worship and submission!
Worship and submission.
Not only did this woman not give up in the face of God's silence. Not only did she not vent and sulk but in response to His silence and apparent NO, she worshiped. in the New Living Translation it says this in verse 25
But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”
Other translations say that she bowed down. So that tells us when she first approached Jesus she was not groveling at his feet. Yes she was begging/pleading but she was bold. But despite His responses, she knew who Jesus was and came low, bowed to His will, even though it wasn't the answer she was looking for and worshiped. This is not the way I generally respond in situations like these. Now note here, submitting and worshiping didn't mean she gave up. She still asked for his help.
She engaged in conversation
She was open to hearing God and speaking to Him. Many of us pray at God, and throw our requests at him but we don't speak with Him. Yes sometimes we get silence initially and we give up. But I think that sometimes we perceive silence because we haven't actually engaged in conversation with God. We look for an outward sign, as the answer. We wait for the change in situation to be the answer. We don't approach expecting to hear His will, His word as the answer. Our faith is built on results not on WHO God is, and time and time again we walk away disappointed and empty handed.
God responds to Faith. without Faith it is impossible to please God. But often, now days what we think is Faith isn't really faith at all. This bold non-Jewish woman approaching Jesus was commended for having great Faith. and as an added bonus her daughter was healed. I believe it is because she genuinely knew God, and had Faith IN HIM not the outcome.
I believe this is the faith that gave her boldness to approach in the first place because she knew that a loving God would not reject her based on prejudice and race and difference in culture.
I believe that this faith in Him, gave her the boldness to ask for the miracle. She knew his character, knew that He was loving. knew that he had compassion. knew that he desired to show mercy. Knew that He wanted to help.
She knew who Jesus was, who God is. Son of David. Lord! Master! These phrases show us that she knew him, that she knew he was sovereign. The fact that she worshiped him, and bowed to Him, even though she had not yet received the answer she wanted nor the miracle she sought. These things all show us her heart. It shows us that her heart knew Him, and trusted in Him. and He, seeing her heart, engaged with her, talking to her in a way he had never [as written in the gospels] interacted with anyone else before. He responded to her faith. and then he commended her faith.
I am so challenged by this woman's heart and story, but I am equally encouraged to know God more because of it.
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