Thurs., 1/15/15 Devotion (Matt. 15:28a)

Today's encouragement comes from Matthew 15:28a, which says this:

"Then Jesus answered and said to her, 'O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.' . . . "

This Canaanite woman goes from being temporarily rebuffed by the Lord Jesus (v. 23a), to being given everything she wants. And what made the dif-ference? Her faith. The Lord will allow us, at times, to "reason" with Him. Christ had told this woman that He was sent only to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel," (v. 24)—but her persistent faith paid off, and she got what she wanted.

This is not the "name it/and claim it" heresy; instead, it is a lesson in the goodness, generosity, and benevolence of the church's God. The Lord simply cannot find it within Himself to deny His children, who come to Him in faith in Jesus (so long as their requests are not sinful, or would not compromise their greater happiness).

[Puritan quote of the day: "But however much the wisdom and justice of God in many things may be out of sight to us, we may be sure that since God does all things as He pleases, they are ordered in the wisest and best manner.”
—Jonathan Edwards, in one of his sermons]