Matthew 15: 21-28 (NKJV)

21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”

23 But He answered her not a word.

And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.”

24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”

26 But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”

27 And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

I would feel rejected when some one deliberately ignore me. I do not handle rejection very well. I would probably walk away in anger. To compound the situation, hearing “Send her away...” , I would probably shake my fist in his face and scream at the top of my lungs ” I don’t need you!!!”.

“Lord, help me” … wasn’t that humble enough in approaching God? How low do I need to go?

Yet she responded with “WORSHIP” …prostrated before God ..in humble reverence … knowing who God is …how great and how awesome is He …in complete surrender of her will … ” Lord! Help me! ” …. her word reverberated.

“Dogs?” … “am I a dog? Am I not created in the image of God! How dare you call me a dog?”

Yet she answered ” Yes, ….  yes Lord,  yes Lord” ..

I sang ” I surrender all … ” in my worship time … would I say “yes, Lord”  if God put me in that situation?

Would a  Canaanite woman, a gentile, a foreigner be allowed to hear the word of God in synagogue or in any Jewish assembly to learn about the word of God? Yet this woman knew about the mercy and promises of God. She must have diligently searched out the word of God against all odds and hid them in her heart. At that moment, all the verses she memorized floated from her heart.

Psalm 103:8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy

Jeremiah 29:12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

Leviticus 23:22 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the Lord your God.’”

“Yes, I am a foreigner .. yes Lord,  but then in your harvest … this humble foreigner .. this little dog may eat  the crumbs …( you are the bread of Life) … that fall from the edges of my master’s field .. according to your word and promises”

“Great is your faith“… faith that rests on the character of God (merciful) and the word and promises of God.

“Your request is granted !   I will answer your prayer ! ”

“And her daughter was healed from that very hour.”