Skip to main content

Confidence

“The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.” Matthew 15:25

If you take time to read the context of this desperate cry, you will find a mother who is seeking help for her daughter. It’s terrible, the demonic attacks on her. Desperation breeds persistence. Jesus remains silent for He did not want to go against what the Father directed, which was to begin with and focus on the Jews and later the Gospel would spread to the Gentiles. And they were right now in Gentile territory and this desperate mother did not fit His current assignment. Or did she?

God always responds to confident faith. The confidence was not in herself or her goodness. Her desperate cry was from a heart that knew Jesus was the only answer. And that confident faith acknowledged the priority set by the Father (the Jews) while saying that even the children’s dogs get a few crumbs from the table. I think Jesus smiled. She understood but her banter demonstrated great faith. And He immediately healed her daughter.

Her confidence was in a person, not her faith. In her heart, only the Lord could help her. Only the Lord could heal her daughter. Only the Lord. So, she persisted in her pursuit of the Lord.

Do we persist in pursuing the Lord or if it appears He is ignoring us or inexplicably remaining silent do we turn away? The morsels are waiting at His table for all who have confidence in Him!

Prayer Focus: Lord, help us to demonstrate persistent confidence in Your Lordship today, even when we feel like You may be ignoring us. Thank You for the morsels that come from Your table.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Not Every Prayer

“To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.’” Luke 18:9-10 Prayers are not the same. Some are humble cries to the Lord; but some are self-righteous rants before God. The first declares our unworthiness in the presence of our King. The second tells God how good we are compared to those around us, as if God is blessed to have us on His side. When I used to provide coaching for churches, I would be in meetings that included prayer. Some of those times were corporate praying that was open to all. I can still remember one in which a person very awkwardly poured their heart out to the Lord while the next waxed eloquent with fine-sounding words. As I listened to the second person, I was not sure that God knew anything, especially how special the pray-er was. As in our passage today, I believe the first person went home justified by Go...
Post a Comment
Read more

Summer Fun with Beautiful Feet!

“As Scripture says, ‘Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.’ For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” Romans 10:11-15 God is good, all the time! Just two verses are already good enough for Him to sketch His gospel to us! The messenger is sent to preach to the seeker. The seeker hears and believes and calls on the name of the Lord! Is it simple? YES! Is it easy? NO. Thank You God, You only hold us accountable to do our best in Your strength and in Your will, then leave the results for You! Also, thank You God, You pave...
Post a Comment
Read more

Answers

“An angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road, the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ So he started out...” Acts 8:26 Philip is an example of how God calls us to step out in obedience even if it doesn’t make sense at the time. The angel of the Lord gave clear directions for Philip to go from Jerusalem to Gaza. He was asked to travel in the heat of the day through the desert, not the normal paved route to Gaza. Philip did not question God or try to figure out why God was asking him to go. He didn’t pause to wonder how he was going to deal with the physically draining aspects of the journey or who was going to fund his trip. He simply started on his way. As he went along, the Holy Spirit directed him to an Ethiopian eunuch. Philip struck up casual conversations which led to sharing the good news about Jesus. Many people have told me they desire to go on a mission trip but are not sure if they should go. They want to have all the answers ahead of time....
Post a Comment
Read more