GRIT AND HUMILITY
MARK 7:24-30
MARK 7:24-30 NKJV
24 From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. 25 For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus said to her, ""Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs.""
28 And she answered and said to Him, ""Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs.""
29 Then He said to her, ""For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.""
30 And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.
OBSERVATION:
This is an encounter Jesus had with a woman who had an amazing amount of faith in Him.
This lady had no Jewish lineage. She was not one of God's covenant people. But she had a daughter with a problem. Because of demon possession, we can only imagine what was taking place with this girl. But it is not a stretch to assume this child was out of control. After the demon left her, the mother found the girl lying in bed. Evidently, this lying still had been unusual behavior for the child.
This mother had some genuine grit to even approach Jesus. The Jews and their Gentile neighbors in Tyre and Sidon had very little interaction. Jewish people would not go into a Gentile home and were not known for being gracious to the Greeks and Syro- Phoenicians.
Even Jesus' answer to this woman seemed harsh at face value. Calling her a little dog was an indication that this woman had no relationship with the living God. She had no claim to any benefit of God's covenant.
How many people would have become offended and walked away? How many would have endured this off-putting remark?
But this lady humbled herself and acknowledged she had no covenant right. But she could ask for mercy. The children's crumbs were the only mercy she needed to see her daughter delivered.
In Matthew's account of this story, he provides a few more details. Jesus' response to the lady was worth noting. He commended her for having great faith. Jesus did not use that superlative often. And this lady received her answer.
APPLICATION:
Grit, humility, and let's add faith to the mix are still a powerful combination.
The faith to believe God's power is real and still working today. The grit or courage to ask for the Lord's help. And the humility to make any adjustments necessary to receive God's best.
All of the accounts we see in the gospels were hand-picked by the Holy Spirit in order to teach us. These accounts are there for us.
And don't forget we have an advantage this Greek Syro-Phoenician woman did not have. We are God's children. We are the ones who have a covenant relationship with Him.
PRAYER:
Thank You Lord I have a covenant with you through Jesus and I am your child. Healing is the children’s bread for me.