Thought #15 – Would you pass this test?

Posted: 23 Jun 2014 09:05 PM PDT Part of the “40 Thoughts of Jesus” series - know more about it. Woman, your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you want. Matthew 15.28 This woman, who got from the Lord Jesus this expression of joy and surprise, was a gentile, a foreigner come from Israel’s bordering lands. A mother, who sought help for her daughter who was horribly tormented by an evil spirit. The way Jesus reacted towards her was uncommon. Typically receptive and welcoming to those who’d seek Him, Jesus acted harshly and insensitively towards this woman. First, He ignored her. Then, when His own disciples asked Him to send her away, He told them His priority was the children of Israel. Then, when the woman insisted, He told her it wasn’t right to take the bread from the children and give it to the dogs. What would you do if someone in the church, a pastor or an assistant, would treat you the way that Jesus treated that woman? How would you react if, as you’d speak to the pastor, he ignored you? And what if you heard the assistants of the church whispering remarks about you saying that you’re a very irritating person and that the best thing to do would be to get rid of you? And what if the bishop of the church told you he could not speak to you because he had people to talk to who were more important than you and who came before you? You would never go back to that church again, to say the least. However, that is exactly what happened to that lady. Even so, she did not get offended or walk away. And that is why Jesus expressed what He thought about her, “Your faith is great!” But why did He treat her that way, after all? It was not because she was a foreigner, because He did not do the same to the centurion, for example, who was also a foreigner. Since Jesus never did anything without a purpose, I believe He tested the faith of that woman because He knew how she would react. This way, it would be forever recorded in history how faith can override feelings. One of today’s greatest evils is called emotional hypersensitivity. People who are hypersensitive, that are offended by anything and everything, who live much by what they feel and who are extremely worried about what others say or think about them. The faith of that woman was great exactly because she stood above her feelings. Plus, she took one offense and turned it into an advantage for her! “Yes, I am a little dog. Just a crumb that falls from the table suffices.” Application: Stand above your feelings. Take the offenses, the indifference and the rejection you get from others and turn it into strength and opportunities. Are you a hypersensitive person? Do you have a hard time forgiving someone or disconnecting yourself from an offense? How can you turn rejection or some other expression of contempt into self-strength and opportunity? Leave your comment.