Stay Focused

                      

And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. 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 from that very hour. Matt 15:22-28

The above story could have gone thus “And behold a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 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 from that very hour.”  The same setting, same challenge, same request and obviously same outcome. Yet it would have been an accurate but incomplete summary of what transpired. We would have been left wondering what made the woman’s faith great? A couple of persons had their faith commended by Christ but only one other person was ‘great faith’ ascribed to (Luke 7:1-10). So, the difference was in what transpired between verses 23 -27 and there were two things that she did that is worthy of emulation.

“But he answered her not a word”. To be ignored in the midst of people (not less than 12) is the very definition of public embarrassment and this ‘snubbing’ was done by no other than the Lord himself. She had a legitimate reason to be angry and just walk away, but that was only the beginning. His disciples then told him to send her away because she was being a nuisance! “Wait a minute, are these people not supposed to be love beings” she might have wondered, but she persisted. Finally, the master spoke but instead of rebuking his disciples, he seemingly worsened the matter by making an analogy that portrayed her and her tribe as dogs. Now, any of these three actions are sufficient to offend any person but a combination of all three are definitely grounds for justifiable lifetime offence at Christ and his disciples. Yet she refused to be offended but only pleaded her case on the basis of the analogy that was made.

Often times, we abandon our pursuits in the face of offences, we let go of God-given visions and mandates just because people are not treating us delicately. We expect to find favour all the time and when it looks as though it is not immediately visible, we are the first to bolt out of the door. Isn’t it time you stopped being easily offended by everybody and everybody being offended by you. Your grievances might be genuine and yes, you least expected such actions from a fellow Christian, but that is not your goal and it should not be your focus. Keep pressing on until you arrive at your destination without the load of anger and resentment weighing you down. Even though Jesus had stated clearly that he was not sent to her at that moment, he had to break protocol to attend to her because of her persistence. Rules will be changed in your favour, doors opened to you if you will only be persistent and refuse to allow offenses take hold of you.

The second thing is you need to tune out the voice of the crowd. It is safe to assume that the disciples had already told the woman to be quiet but when they did not get the desired result, they asked Christ to step in but she kept going until she got a response from him. There is always “The person” to talk to. If you spend your time arguing and insisting with the wrong crowd, you will mostly likely end up being spent. It is often the case that middle level management have killed more visions than can be recorded. The band of naysayers and rulebook followers are meant to keep the legions of average ideas away and they are necessary for every establishment. They are not meant to validate your ideas or smoothen your emotions, so don’t get stuck with them. Find out that key person that can make the difference and present your case.

I guess you must have walked into a shop to buy a product with a price tag and the attendant insists that the price cannot be reduced even though you knew it can be cheaper; and when you meet with the owner or manager, you were given a better deal. Don’t let the noise of the gatekeepers stop you, keep going until you get to the decision maker and present your case, the worst case is for it to be unchanged but you have given your best and registered your voice and the best case is your desires are granted.

The greatness of her faith was not in the challenges she came with and had to overcome but in her resoluteness in overcoming the challenge. Nothing that was thrown at her could redirect her focus. She would not allow offences or others opinion to rob her of her desires. You have been given a measure of faith and that faith is the overcoming faith, stand resolute in your course, get the business started, complete the training, work on the marriage, keep raising godly children, excel at your job; the glory at the end far outweighs the distractions on the way. Don’t let the cheers and the boos of the crowd distract you from your goal, stay focused.

If you have not made Jesus Christ your Lord and saviour, then life here is anchorless and eternity is bleak. We urge you, don’t wait another moment. Make up your mind and say this prayer:

“Dear God, I ask you to forgive me all my sins and make me anew. I believe that Jesus died for me and you raised him up on the third day, I confess that He is Lord now and forever. I accept your son, Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour.”

Congratulations! Now that you are born again, look for a Bible believing church to attend that you might know what he has provided for you.