Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
Matthew 15:28 (ref: Matthew 15:22-28)
Relentless is a term described as never slackening, continuing at an intense level, pursuing without mercy; demanding and opposing something or someone. This story speaks to the persistent, passionate and powerful faith of a woman whose concern for her daughter made her pursuit for help, relentless.
Imagine this woman starting out pleading with compassion and respect, “have mercy on me, Oh Lord, my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.” When she was shunned and probably got the response she expected, given who she was, she began to worship Him and said, “Lord, help me.” You can almost hear the love that knows no bounds for her daughter in her voice, yet, He replied and said, “It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.” Most of us might have hung our heads in shame or easily given up but with the same spirit of compassion and obvious wisdom and insight, she makes a strong, yet profound statement, “Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.” Although she was not Jewish she thought perhaps she might be allowed to share just some of the crumbs of His mercy. Who wouldn’t stop and take notice after hearing such an analogy and a demonstration of such faith? Because of her relentless faith, that day her daughter was made whole.
I don’t know if you know the passion that comes along with being a mother, but when your child is in need of some help, you will go to the lengths for them. A Syrophenician woman who was of Greek descent, a people who were hated by the Jews, one of whom by no means should have approached Jesus, was no different from any of us. She knew that if she could get to Him, surely He could help her daughter and she desperately wanted her child delivered from this demon. She also knew that Jesus was just the man who could help because of the miracles she'd heard or perhaps saw. His silence with her was seemingly refusal; but His delay was not denial… it’s was just a test of her faith.
What if we sought the Lord as this woman did? What if we sought after Him with the same intensity and having the faith that moves mountains? We are going to have many obstacles, many persecutions, and much opposition but we are going to need relentless faith, even when the answer may be not to our liking. We must have the faith that will stand regardless of what we see or don't see, for things that we face on a daily basis; faith that will stand up against the forces of evil because we know that this world is ruled by the powers of darkness (Eph 6:12)and we will, if we are living according the will of God, face persecution on some level. All hell will come against us but we must stand against the enemy and his tactics, yet knowing that the God we serve is able to do above all that we could ask or think.
At all costs, we will have to be determined that we are going to push forward boldly and earnestly for the faith with and by faith. Regardless, refuse to back down; refuse to give up. Being passionate and intense, being determined and unwavering is not only a must, but a requirement.
So be fervent, be firm and unyielding, be persistent ... have relentless faith!
Until the morning, be blessed,
Cynde
Matthew 15:28 (ref: Matthew 15:22-28)
Relentless is a term described as never slackening, continuing at an intense level, pursuing without mercy; demanding and opposing something or someone. This story speaks to the persistent, passionate and powerful faith of a woman whose concern for her daughter made her pursuit for help, relentless.
Imagine this woman starting out pleading with compassion and respect, “have mercy on me, Oh Lord, my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.” When she was shunned and probably got the response she expected, given who she was, she began to worship Him and said, “Lord, help me.” You can almost hear the love that knows no bounds for her daughter in her voice, yet, He replied and said, “It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.” Most of us might have hung our heads in shame or easily given up but with the same spirit of compassion and obvious wisdom and insight, she makes a strong, yet profound statement, “Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.” Although she was not Jewish she thought perhaps she might be allowed to share just some of the crumbs of His mercy. Who wouldn’t stop and take notice after hearing such an analogy and a demonstration of such faith? Because of her relentless faith, that day her daughter was made whole.
I don’t know if you know the passion that comes along with being a mother, but when your child is in need of some help, you will go to the lengths for them. A Syrophenician woman who was of Greek descent, a people who were hated by the Jews, one of whom by no means should have approached Jesus, was no different from any of us. She knew that if she could get to Him, surely He could help her daughter and she desperately wanted her child delivered from this demon. She also knew that Jesus was just the man who could help because of the miracles she'd heard or perhaps saw. His silence with her was seemingly refusal; but His delay was not denial… it’s was just a test of her faith.
What if we sought the Lord as this woman did? What if we sought after Him with the same intensity and having the faith that moves mountains? We are going to have many obstacles, many persecutions, and much opposition but we are going to need relentless faith, even when the answer may be not to our liking. We must have the faith that will stand regardless of what we see or don't see, for things that we face on a daily basis; faith that will stand up against the forces of evil because we know that this world is ruled by the powers of darkness (Eph 6:12)and we will, if we are living according the will of God, face persecution on some level. All hell will come against us but we must stand against the enemy and his tactics, yet knowing that the God we serve is able to do above all that we could ask or think.
At all costs, we will have to be determined that we are going to push forward boldly and earnestly for the faith with and by faith. Regardless, refuse to back down; refuse to give up. Being passionate and intense, being determined and unwavering is not only a must, but a requirement.
So be fervent, be firm and unyielding, be persistent ... have relentless faith!
Until the morning, be blessed,
Cynde
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