Not long ago, there was a commercial for Kodak where a dad takes his little girl to a public pool with the purpose of teaching her how to dive off the diving board. As she climbs the high ladder and looks down into the water...she freezes. It’s a long way down... the water looks intimidating... What will happen if she leaps and lets go?
She looks over the edge of the board. And can’t move. Legs solidly in place. Unmoving. Unsure. Dad tells her to jump. He reassures her it will be fine. That she will be safe. That he would never let anything happen to her.
Doubt is a powerful entity. Our Heavenly Father wants us to jump but often....
We need reassurance. We need security. We need proof. We need God to do something first… And so we stand in the same place. Expressing our needs at the end of a great leap...
But need doesn’t move God’s heart.
“Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.’
But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. ‘Tell her to go away,’ they said. ‘She is bothering us with all her begging.’ Then Jesus said to the woman, ‘I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.’ But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, ‘Lord, help me!’ Jesus responded, ‘It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.’ She replied, ‘That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.’ ‘Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.” Matthew 15:21-28
This Gentile woman needed her daughter to be healed... she begged and pleaded. And interestingly enough... Jesus didn’t say a word to her. Was He being mean spirited or cruel? Of course not. He was on task... doing what He had been sent to do.... serve God’s chosen people, the Israelites. He knew He couldn’t (and wasn’t meant to) get to everyone who asked for His time.
She persisted. Crying her needs into the air... seeking reassurance... a guarantee... proof that miracles still happen. She expressed her needs to God... but it wasn’t what she said that made Jesus change His course of action.
It was her faith.
It wasn’t what she needed that moved Christ... it was what she believed.
Faith is what God is looking for. Persistent and unshakable faith. Belief that...
That the pool will be deep enough....
That your prayers will be strong enough...
That your God is big enough...
Faith moves God’s heart. It defeats doubt... eliminates fear... and reminds us that we are never alone or uncared for. This Gentile woman believed Jesus could heal... With her whole heart she knew she could count on Him. And, because of her faith, Jesus granted her request. Instantly her daughter was restored.
God knew her needs...but it was faith that healed that little girl.
At the end of that Kodak commercial, the girl closes her eyes and jumps... trusting in the depth of the water and the words of her father. Splashing down and quickly popping back up, she looks over to the deck and tells her dad... “Let’s do it again, daddy!”
God will always be enough. Don’t doubt. And remember, God knows your needs before you even have them... but it’s not His knowledge of your needs that fixes things...
It’s your faith in His ability to do it.
And when you take that leap... and God catches you... you’ll tell Jesus the same thing...
“Let’s do it again”
