God has a plan for your life. We find His plan revealed in His Word. The Bible is God’s Word. God wrote the Bible to reveal truth, not hide it. He wants you to have the answers.
His word plainly reveals the most important answer: how to be saved.
Once we settle that, receive the Holy Spirit, and start reading His word, we’ll have a lot more questions!
Thankfully, God speaks to us through His word. The Bible contains everything we need to navigate this life. Through the Holy Spirit, the scriptures come alive to us!
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1Cor 2:12-14)
Much like parents speak to their children with age-appropriate speech, God reveals things to us through His word as we mature as believers. For example, Paul had much he wanted to reveal to the Corinthians, but he knew they were not ready to receive it.
“I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;” (1Cor 3:2)
Their sin hindered them from hearing the truth.
“for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?” (1Cor 3:3)
In a previous post, I shared how my prideful reaction to Matthew 15 blocked me from receiving the deeper truth and blessing God had for me in this passage.
Today I want to share with you that gem, once hidden, now revealed.
When we look deeper into this passage, we see Jesus acting out of character. We know Jesus came to the lost sheep of Israel, the Jews. But we’ve seen Him respond and heal Gentile believers before. (Matt 8:10; Luke 7:9) We know Jesus is merciful. Yet He seems to ignore this woman’s cry for mercy. (Matt 15:22)
I’m reminded of the passage in John 21 when Jesus restores Peter. It’s a process.
“Do you love Me more than these?” - “Feed My lambs.”
“Do you love Me?” - “Tend My sheep.”
“Do you love Me?” - “Feed My sheep.”
Jesus is not ignorant of the woman’s faith, any more than He was ignorant of Peter’s love.
@kriscamealy once said, “The Holy Spirit doesn’t poke us to discover more - we are fully known by God already. The prodding is for us to join God in the depths where the Spirit is already present and at work, binding our wounds and refining our hearts.”
I think this is happening here in Matthew 15. Jesus is prodding this woman, revealing the depth of her faith. He’s doing it for her benefit. And for ours.
In her faith:
I hear the echoes of Genesis 32:22, the tenacity of Jacob wrestling with God. “And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, ‘I will not let You go unless You bless me!’”
I see the persistent widow of Luke 18. “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,”
I’m reminded of Daniel’s humility in chapter 10. “Then he said to me, ‘Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.’”
In these glimpses, and there are many more, believe me, we see that God expects us to pray. It is our privilege and duty to do so. Repeatedly. Without ceasing. With boldness when necessary. With humility, always. And to remember, every accepted prayer is not immediately an answered prayer.
Dear Reader, this little pile of gems is just the beginning. I encourage you to continue to mine these passages for the truths God has for you.
Shalom.
Photo Credit: @jyeo on unsplash