I want to go back to a subject I have touched on before. That subject is the will of God. We like to think of ourselves as being carried along in the will of God, as though everything that happens to us is meant to be. It's like the guy who fell down the stairs, and then got up and said, "Whew! Glad that's over with." The danger is in assigning responsibility to God for evil things. God is only the giver of good and perfect gifts. He is not the author of sin and death. You might say that God may not cause evil, but He allows it. First of all, there is a giant difference between the two. Secondly, I don't think it is all that helpful to think in terms of what evil God allows or does not allow, if it causes us to be passive or stoic about pain, sickness, death, suffering or heartbreak. Jesus wept over the death of His friend, Lazarus, even though He knew He was about to raise him from the dead. There are many places in the Bible where it is recorded that Jesus had compassion and then healed. I believe compassion is a powerful way to connect with the heart of God and to understand what He wants you to do.
In Matthew 15, it is recorded that Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. I believe He was looking for a little rest and relaxation. A Canaanite woman heard He was in town and drew near to plead for her daughter. She cried out, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed." But Jesus did not even speak to her. The disciples begged Jesus to send her away, because she was bothering them. Finally, Jesus said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." This is a hard passage for us to understand, but, from a theological standpoint, Jesus was sent by God as the Messiah . . . to Israel. Most of His parables foretold His acceptance by the nations, after His rejection by the Jews. But that time had not yet come. The mother was not discouraged, but was, instead, emboldened to come and bow before Him and plead for help. What sounded to us like a rejection was, to her, an opening. He was speaking to her now! Then Jesus said something to her that sounds extremely harsh by our standards. He said, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." But she replied, "Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." As I read this, I can't help thinking about how annoyed I get when my dogs do that very thing. I also get annoyed when my grandson leaves his food where the dogs can steal it. I can tell you that they are eager and quick, and they don't seem to mind that I don't like what they are doing. So the children's bread represented healing for the woman's daughter, so she was bold and persistent.
Hurry! He's coming back!
I want us to put ourselves in her place. At what point would we become discouraged? Would we quit when we got no answer? Would we give up when we were told it just wasn't God's will or that the timing wasn't right? Would we let our own theology dissuade us? This passage convinces me not to ever give up when I am asking God for something. If I am tempted to think that it is just not God's will, I just need to look at this mother's persistence. I can tell you that there is nothing in this passage which teaches me that I should concern myself with what God might allow or what His will is. What it teaches me, instead, is that my prayers can bend heaven and earth, if I am willing to be bold and persistent, especially if it concerns anyone who is hurting (including me). I already know what God's will is. He is willing to save, deliver, and heal. He is willing to deliver people from any kind of addiction or oppression.
Since I have begun this journey of faith on paper, I have seen loved ones delivered from pain on the spot. Someone has been freed from a lifetime of depression. Even today, something special happened to someone who needed help with their car. Yet, when I write these things, I am conscious that there is so much more that He wants to do through prayer and that I have barely scratched the surface. There are also challenges that come along and test my resolve. And I should say, "our resolve," because my wife and I are in this together. These are her prayers, too; sometimes, more hers than mine! The biggest thing that has happened to us is we have been led into the love and presence of God. When we know how much He loves us, we know how much He wants to do for us, and how much He wants to love others through us. We are encouraged to be bold, just like the Canaanite woman whose faith was rewarded by Jesus with deliverance for her daughter, even if the theology didn't seem to fit.