Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”  But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”  And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”  Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
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In this passage, we see an example of faith and persistence in action. This woman came to Jesus with an urgent need and right away encounters difficulty. The first obstacle she has to overcome is that Jesus didn't even answer! Imagine how she could have felt - pleading with Jesus and not even getting a word out of Him? She could have felt discouraged, rejected or offended. How about us? Jesus can and will deal with us in the same way. Sometimes we may go to Him in prayer with our troubles and needs, and yet it seems as if He doesn't respond. The situations we have pleaded with Him about do may not appear to change. However from the verses above let me encourage you, that though Jesus at this point didn't answer the woman, he heard her, and once he heard her, something was going to happen!
So the woman passes the first 'test' - Jesus says nothing, but she is still there. She has not walked away offended or hurt by Jesus' seemingly cool response. The second obstacle that now faced the woman is that the disciples of Jesus come on the scene and try to persuade Jesus to send her away. This is what I call a "people test". Would she allow them to stop her from getting her breakthrough? No, and neither should we. Like with this woman people may say or do things to put you off seeking the Lord or getting closer to Him. However we should follow her example - ignore them and focus on Jesus. She didn't argue with the disciples about why they didn't want her around. She was wise. Responding to them would have taken away her focus. She didn't come to them (as they thought). She came to Jesus, and she wasn't leaving empty handed!
After this, Jesus responds, but what He says isn't what she wanted to hear. He tells her (in my words!) "Look lady, I was sent only to the Jews, and you are not a Jew." On the surface of it, Jesus tells her she doesn't qualify for His help. However, notice that He hasn't outright said "No" to her request. Another test for her to overcome! What will she do now? She worships Him and keeps on asking for help. This woman inspires me! Even after Jesus tells her she doesn't meet the condition for help, she worships and persists on in faith. She is an example to us - to worship Jesus and continue to believe even when it seems as if He will not do what we ask of Him.
Jesus continues in dialogue with her, but now He insults her by referring to her as one of the "little dogs". This derogatory term was one commonly used by the Jews to refer to Gentiles (non-Jews). How would she deal with Jesus' harsh words? She could (again) have been upset and walked away. She could have said "How dare you refer to me like that. I have come to you for help and even worship you, and all you can do is tell me that I am a little dog?. Get lost!" No No No! Guess what? She agrees with him instead! Not only that, but she uses the same term "little dog" to help her plead her cause - "Yes Lord, whatever you say, but even the little dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the masters table." Jesus can no longer contain His delight with this woman and commends the GREAT FAITH she has demonstrated. He grants her request and the woman's daughter is healed instantly.
This woman overcame every test thrown at her! All along, Jesus knew what He was going to do but was testing her faith. How badly did she want the healing for her daughter? Would she give up?
This story is a great lesson to us on how to persevere in faith and also gives us an insight into the fact that God will examine our faith to see how determined we are to receive from Him.