A WOMAN OF GREAT FAITH

TEXT: MATTHEW 15:21-31.

🔑KEY VERSE “Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole that very hour” (MATTHEW 15:28).

Faith is the ability to trust what we cannot see. With faith, we are freed from the flimsy enclosures of life that only fear allows to entrap us.

The woman from Canaan in our text had a great difficulty. Her daughter was grievously worked with a devil. It is very likely that by the time she decided to seek Jesus, she had tried every remedy she knew. She might likely had been to every doctor and tried every home remedy she could seek out to help her daughter. By the time she sought Jesus, she had become a very desperate woman. Though He appeared to ignore her, He was waiting for her faith to find a full expression. When she could not be discouraged by her being referred to as a dog but demanded for the crumbs that fall from the master’s table, Jesus granted her request.

God does not build great faith in us with little troubles; it is the cliff that is impossible to climb that challenges our faith to rise to a greater level.

God uses difficulties to come our way to build our faith. If a problem is minor and can be solved by our reasoning and common sense it needs no faith.

This woman’s faith was properly placed in Jesus. We will never build great faith in our lives until we get our total focus on Him who has the ability to answer our prayers. Tozer once said, “The only man who can be sure he has true Bible faith is the one who has put himself in a position where he cannot go back.” Faith is the magnet that attracts God’s power into our lives. Trust Him today with the challenging situations in your life and He will not disappoint you.

✍THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Leap over the fence by faith.

BIBLE IN A YEAR: LUKE 5-6.

MEDITATION

How faith works

1. Faith works through Christ’s presence vv21,22.
   Tyre and Sidon belonged to the Gentiles but the presence of Jesus turned it to a miracle centre. Do all you can to invite the presence of Jesus, e.g. through praise, joy of the Lord, prayers etc, and miracles will happen.
2. Faith works through desperation which eventually result to crying vv22,23.
3. Faith works through persistence vv23-26.
4. Faith works by courageously walking through the discouraging test of faith vv24,26.
5. Faith works through positive, logical reasoning and confession of faith/word of God vv26,27.
   Ask for the spirit of faith to dominate your heart
   Ask for the power to always persist until miracle happens.
   Pray for the presence of Jesus to always pervades our fellowship meetings

HYMN Come unto me

1. Hear the blessed Savior calling the oppressed,
   “Oh, ye heavy-laden, come to Me and rest;
   Come, no longer tarry, I your load will bear,
   Bring Me every burden, bring Me every care.”
   Refrain:
   Come unto Me, I will give you rest;
   Take My yoke upon you, hear Me and be blest;
   I am meek and lowly, come and trust My might;
   Come, My yoke is easy, and My burden’s light.
2. Are you disappointed, wand’ring here and there,
   Dragging chains of doubt and loaded down with care?
   Do unholy feelings struggle in your breast?
   Bring your case to Jesus—He will give you rest.
3. Stumbling on the mountains dark with sin and shame,
   Stumbling toward the pit of hell’s consuming flame;
   By the pow’rs of sin deluded and oppressed,
   Hear the tender Shepherd, “Come to Me and rest.”
4. Have you cares of business, cares of pressing debt?
   Cares of social life or cares of hope unmet?
   Are you by remorse or sense of guilt depressed,
   Come right on to Jesus, He will give you rest.
5. Have you by temptation often conquered been,
   Has a sense of weakness brought distress within?
   Christ will sanctify you, if you’ll claim His best;
   In the Holy Spirit, He will give you rest.