When God appears silent…

Over the next several days, I'm going to share some tests that we often have to walk through as God develops our faith. These tests come from a sermon I heard by Eric Ludy although I have written them out in my own words. (But the idea was his!)

Test 1. When God appears silent

In Matthew 15:22-28, we find the story of a Canaanite woman (this is significant because she wasn’t a Jew as were Jesus and the disciples) that came to Jesus begging Him to heal her daughter.

“Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David!” she cries. But Jesus kept walking. In fact, it looks like maybe He didn’t even hear her, for the Bible tells us, “He answered her not a word.” If He had just said something, anything to sooth her pain and show He cared, it would have helped, but He says nothing!

Imagine if we were this woman? How do we usually respond if we speak in urgency to someone and they ignore us? What about if we are speaking to Christ, we are begging for Him to heal and intervene and all we get is silence? Do we grow disheartened? Do we start looking somewhere else for help? Do we give up and go away? Or do we hold on, realizing that there is NO OTHER WAY...Jesus is the ONLY ONE who can help us!

If Jesus silence wasn’t painful enough, next the disciples tell Jesus in front of this woman, “Send her away. She’s becoming a nuisance as she cries after us.” If she knew what was good for her, it might be time to be quiet and stop making a nuisance of herself. But she doesn’t stop.

Finally Jesus speaks. But He doesn’t speak healing, instead He tells this woman. “I am not sent to help you. I came to help Israel.” About this time, if I (Mel) was this woman, I think I’d be turning and heading for home. “Obviously neither Jesus or His disciples seem to care about helping me!” I would probably be tempted to think.

But instead of turning away in dejection, she falls at His feet in worship. “Lord, help me!” she continues to plead. Again Jesus turns to her, but He still does not speak healing. Instead He says simply, “It’s not good to take Israel’s bread and give it to dogs.” Basically, He just called her, a Canaanite woman, a dog.

If any were looking on, they were probably thinking, “What’s wrong with this woman? Doesn’t she get it?! Jesus isn’t going to help her. She’s not even a Jew, who does she think she is begging for Him to heal her daughter? Why doesn’t she stop pestering Him and go away.”

If this woman had a back-up plan, if Jesus was just one of her options, she probably wouldn’t have stuck around to receive the miracle she was pleading for that day. But she had no back-up plan. And as a result, she wasn’t concerned with who she was or her lack of qualifications for a miracle. She wasn’t even concerned if He called her a dog. All she knew was who He was! He was the Savior, and she knew He was the only one who could help her, and her faith would not let go. And so she responded through tear stained eyes and quivering lips. “It’s true Lord, I may be a dog, but even the dogs eat the crumbs from their masters table. All I need is a crumb Lord, just a crumb!” she cries.

Then Jesus turns to her with tenderness in His eyes. It wasn’t that He didn’t care from the beginning; it wasn’t that He didn’t love her; it wasn’t that He didn’t want to heal, but He wanted to prove her faith and use her enduring persevering faith as a testimony for the thousands who would follow her example down through the ages. At last He speaks what she’s been longing to hear. “O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee, even as thou hast asked.”

And at that same hour, her daughter was healed.

Would we have endured this faith test? Do we endure today, even when it seems God ignores our pleas, when it seems maybe we are making ourselves a nuisance, when it seems He is answering other’s needs, while we are the outcast that He can’t possible help. Will we hold on and worship Him still, and not let go until He fulfills our great need?