We’ve been talking about perseverance. And one of the most striking illustrations of perseverance is the story of the Canaanite woman who sought healing for her demon-possessed daughter.
Then Jesus left and went north into the non-Jewish region of Lebanon. He encountered there a Canaanite woman who screamed out to him, “Lord, Son of David, show mercy to me! My daughter is horribly afflicted by a demon that torments her.” But Jesus never answered her. So his disciples said to him, “Why do you ignore this woman who is crying out to us?” Jesus said, “I’ve only been sent to the lost sheep of Israel.” But she came and bowed down before him and said, “Lord, help me!” Jesus responded, “It’s not right for a man to take bread from his children and throw it out to the dogs.” “You’re right, Lord,” she replied. “But even puppies get to eat the crumbs that fall from the prince’s table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Dear woman, your faith is strong! What you desire will be done for you.” And at that very moment, her daughter was instantly set free from demonic torment.
-Matthew 15:21-28, TPT
Using your imagination, put yourself in this woman’s shoes. Would you have persisted in shouting at a Healer who totally ignored you? Would you have continued even after He said, “No! Healing is for Israelites and not for you”? I have to admit that I probably would not have been that audacious. But God likes audacious prayer, and that what often looks like arrogance is simply faith in action. I love what E.M. Bounds says about this woman:
Hopeful, urgent and unwearied, she stays near the master, insisting and praying until the answer is given. What a study in importunity, in earnestness, in persistence, promoted and propelled under conditions which would have disheartened any but a heroic, constant soul. (Jesus) teaches that an answer to prayer is conditional upon the amount of faith that goes to the petition. To test this, He delays the answer. The superficial prayer-er subsides into silence, when the answer is delayed. But the man of prayer hands on, and on. The Lord recognizes and honors his faith, and gives him a rich and abundant answer to his faith, evidencing importunate prayer.
There is another very important issue highlighted in this story: timing. Ordinary petition could not apprehend this woman’s miracle, because she was ahead of her time. Of course, salvation for all mankind was always in the heart of the Father, but there was Divine order in its earthly release, and the Gospel had not yet been given to the Gentiles. It takes an audacious, persistent person to access something out of earth timing, but it is possible.
In the midst of contending for my miracle one day, the Lord said to me, You do know that what you are contending for is for another generation, right? That was not exactly what I wanted to hear at that moment, and my heart immediately sank. But within minutes, Holy Spirit reminded me of an encounter with Melchizedek’s timeline that I had years earlier. So, I asked Him if I, like David, could live from the fruit of another day and access my future-tense miracle. He said yes, but I soon realized that it requires great labor to birth something new in the earth and even more to eat from the fruit of something that is out of earth-time.
In Martin Luther’s day, the message of salvation by grace through faith was unheard of. He labored in the Spirit to birth that in the earth and, even for many years afterwards, many were persecuted for this message. Four hundred years later, I simply accepted the gift of salvation at the age of 5. Until Azusa Street, the baptism of the Holy Spirit evidenced in speaking in tongues had also been lost to the modern church. William Seymour and many others were horribly persecuted for this doctrine. Yet, I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit easily at the age of 9.
On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister ran a mile in 3 minutes and 59 and four tenths of a second, breaking through the invisible barrier of the 4-minute mile, a barrier that runners had been unsuccessfully trying to break since at least 1886. The interesting thing is that this barrier was broken again only 46 days later, when John Landy ran the mile in 3 minutes 58 seconds. Then, only a year later, 3 runners broke the 4-minute mile barrier in the same race! Now, well over 1,000 runners have broken the barrier that was once considered impossible.
The point is this: From the place where you are seated in Christ in the eternal realm, it is possible to access anything that the Father has for you at any time. But within the framework of earth-time, those who birth it in the earth, must labor to bring it forth. Once it has been established in the earth, others can access it more easily, because the barrier of impossibility has been broken for them.
If you are reading this, you are no doubt a forerunner and have been chosen to birth something here. And birthing always involves labor. Doing something “new” or ahead of your time will take tremendous amounts of energy and determination. Meet Yeshua now on the Trading Floor and exchange discouragement for honor and weariness for His wind of refreshing. Pause for a moment and take in the magnitude of what He has given you the privilege of establishing here. Use your imagination to see those who will come after you enjoying those things more easily. An extraordinary miracle requires extraordinary labor – not human, fleshly works, but, like I talked about in last week’s post, laboring in prayer in the Secret Place.
I hope that this has encouraged you and has given you fresh perspective of what the Father is allowing you to birth from heaven to earth. May you feel His wind of grace beneath your wings, as He does the work through you, a yielded vessel. He’s just good like that!
Until next time…
-Virginia