story of persevering (part 1)
I believe there is no other story in the Bible that conveys a persevering spirit during a desert season better than the one recorded in Matthew 15:21-28. A Gentile woman came to Jesus begging him to help her. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out.
How can I cooperate with God in building heart-character?
Pressing through pain
The woman is suffering. She is experiencing a tremendous amount of pain, grief, and agony over her situation. My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession. Even though her daughter is the one afflicted by demons, it is the woman who is distressed seeking help. Her words show just how much her daughter’s condition affects her: Have mercy on me! She doesn’t say “have mercy on my daughter,” but the cries of her heart are saying, “I need help, I need mercy.” The woman is not just being empathetic toward her daughter’s condition; she is in a state of crisis because of it. She’s at a breaking point, and the story emphasizes the woman’s anguish, fear, and suffering. Despite her suffering, or rather because of it, she presses through the pain. She seeks after the one who she believes can change her situation to tell him of her suffering.
The first step of walking through the desert can be as simple as that – identifying the hurt and telling God. It’s not an earth shattering insight by any means, but it’s a step that we can often forget to take. Imagine the number of people in that region suffering from something similar or worse in their lives. Yet, we have a record of only one woman who came to Jesus. It’s not because there was no one hurting; it’s because they didn’t come. Whatever the reason our hearts are saying, “have mercy on me,” it is of great significance to God. In my short life, the cries for mercy from my heart have ranged from feeling lonely, to needing a job, to getting out of debt, to healing a broken relationship, to finding a church, to reading my Bible daily. Some of these things don’t seem as momentous as they did when I was going through that trial, but at the time they were big deals in my life. Perhaps because of my dramatic personality, I was not above identifying any of those things as my great hurt – that one thing in my life at that time which, if answered, would make everything right in my life. I have seen God work undeniably in each of these circumstances because I believed that he cared about them and laid my request before him. It is just a first step. A step I needed to take to get to the next.
Pressing through silence
After the woman cries out to Jesus with all of her heart, she encounters a very difficult response: silence. Jesus did not answer a word. We don’t know how long Jesus remains silent but it is probably long enough for the woman to feel like he is not going to say anything. This period of silence from God is the desert season. I’m sure Jesus’ silence feels like a “no” to her, but she does not lose heart and turn back. Instead, she presses through the silence. Here’s how she presses through: she believes that she was heard and does not believe the answer was no. She did not give up or turn back but waits.
In our season of spiritual dryness, we will inevitably encounter God’s silence. There will be those times when we do not hear a word, not even a peep from him – there is no sign or indication that he has heard us. But. . . we can press through that silence by choosing to believe he has heard us. “The Lord hears the needy” (Psalm 69:33), and if we know we are needy and have spoken or prayed to God our requests, we know that he has heard us. The second step after we encounter the silence, however, is not as easy. I reexamine the request of my heart in order to not believe God’s answer is no. I started out asking for a change to my situation thinking that that would stop the hurt. I realize that if I am going to stick it out and continue to hope in God, my request has to change – from “please change my situation” to “please meet my needs.” If my heart is really saying “change my circumstances, change my situation” it is possible that God is saying, “No, or not yet.” I do not have that kind of faith or belief that he would simply change my situation like that. My heart cries out to God “I need you, please have mercy on me.” At that point, I am not even tempted to believe God might be saying no; he is just being silent.
I come to God asking for a change in my outward situation, I stay asking Him to meet my needs, whatever they are. I pray, “Lord, you know my situation. I come to you not asking you to change all of these things about my life, but asking you to meet my innermost needs (comfort me and love me), and please have mercy on me.” With that attitude of knowing He hears me and not believing the answer is no, I persevere by not giving up and by not turning back, waiting for Him, and persevering through the silence.
Perseverance in humility and faith is the way we cooperate with God in building heart-character
Observation - Is there a sentence that jumps out at you?
Understanding - What is the purpose of silence?
Application - What is one thing I can do to persevere today?
