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Matthew 15:21-28
"Dear woman," Jesus said to her, "your faith is great. Your request is granted." And her daughter was instantly healed (v.28).
When I was growing up, my father kept one can of WD-40 in the house and another in the his car. It seemed it was the be-all and end-all for almost every mechanical problem. But what is WD-40? It literally stands for Water Displacement 40th attempt.
In 1853, chemist Norm Larsen was attempting to concoct a formula a prevent corrosion - a task which is accomplished by displacing water. Larsen's unyielding tenacity and persistence paid off when he perfected the formula on his 40th try.
Matthew introduces us to a Gentile woman who had this same kind of persistence. Her daughter was violently and cruelly demon-possessed (15:21). She had no hope of ever seeing her daughter normal again, until she heard that Jesus was in town. She had heard about Jesus' power and the miracles He had worked in the lives of others, and she believed He could help her too. So she approached Jesus boldly and persevered with unyielding tenacity, even when everything and everybody seemed to be against her. Her race, religious background, gender, the disciples, Satan, and even Jesus seemed to be against her (v.24).
Despite these seeming obstacles, she did not give up, but pushed her way through the dark corridors of her desperate need. She had chutzpah (khoot-spuh), a Jewish/Hebrew word for headstrong persistence, unyielding tenacity, bold determination, and raw nerve. Jesus complimented her chutzpah and rewarded her faith by healing her daughter (v.28).
Sometimes we pray, and if we don't get an answer the first time, we give up. That's not chutzpah! Chutzpah is having the raw belief, the deep trust, and the confident hope to be persistent with God, believing that He is good, just, and loving, and that He desires what's best for us. -Marvin Williams
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How have you demonstrated your faith through chutzpah in prayer lately? What prayers have you seen answered as you've persisted in calling on God?
This really spoke to me yesterday as I was doing my devotion. I had decided to stop praying about something that's on my mind just because He said 'no' for the first time. It didn't occur to me that the answer 'no', might be a 'yes' at another time, when the time is right. For in Ecclesiastes 3:1 states that 'For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.' I didn't think that He might have it in His plan, in the near future. I thought of it as a clear-cut no. A definite answer that would never ever change at all. Not even move a slightest bit. I guess it's just His way of talking to us, letting us know what's on His mind. Now that He has made it clear, I shall continue to pray about it until things change, or not. But at the end of the day, I know that He wants the best for me, and if that's not the best in His time, then I guess, it just means that I'll have to learn to accept the facts =)
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