The Secret of Worship
Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 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. (Matthew 15:21-28)
Thought For Today:
There was many times that Jesus found himself having to make tough decisions as to who He would help and not help. When His mother, Mary, told Him at the wedding feast that they didn't have any more wine, He said, "Woman what have I to do with thee, my hour is not yet come." When the multitude that followed him needed something to eat, He told His disciples to give them something to eat. When they told Him that Lazarus his friend was sick, He delayed His coming until He was dead. It would be easy to think that God isn't fair and that He picks and chooses who He will help. But God isn't that way at all. He said, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy." God is sovereign and He can do as He wishes. But once you become His, He will never leave you nor forsake you. When you worship Him, He will always answer you. In today's passage we read that Jesus would not answer this woman. He told her, "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."
People that only worship Jesus when they need something are the ones that worship Him with their lips only. But true worshippers worship Him in spirit and in truth; They worship Him no matter what situation they are in. This woman proved her sincere worship when she told Jesus that if eating crumbs from the floor as a dog would grant her wish, she was willing to do that. Jesus saw her faith. What does Jesus see when you come to Him for something? Remember, He always look on the heart.