“The woman came and knelt before him [Jesus]. “Lord, help me!” she said.” (Matthew 15:25, NIV)
Every now and then, someone will cry out for help. They will reach out in true need. You will hear that plea for help. You will then have to decide whether to sit idly by or do something. Even if you decide to do something, you will need to figure out a way to help. Sometimes, figuring out how to help is the greatest obstacle.
When Jesus was ministering in the area of Tyre and Sidon, in areas bordering Gentile lands, He came across a Gentile woman who needed His help. The woman’s daughter was “possessed by a demon” (Matthew 15:22). Upon hearing that Jesus was in the area, the woman sought out Jesus. She approached Jesus and the disciples asking for help for her daughter. At first, they would not respond to her. Jesus had very important work to do. The woman was not a believer, not a Jew, and presumably did not know God. However, she did have faith in Jesus. She also had deeper wisdom, which became more apparent in the time she spent with Jesus. She persisted in calling for help from the disciples. They wanted to send her away (Matthew 15:23). In a sign of absolute faith in Jesus, the woman came over and fell before Jesus saying “Lord, help me!”. She wasn’t even pleading for herself. The woman’s faith spurred Jesus to question her further. Upon hearing her answers, her deep wisdom was apparent. Jesus healed her daughter.
Jesus’ disciples did not want Jesus to heal the woman. They wanted to send her away. Upon spending time with her, Jesus saw something holy in that woman. Her actions and responses revealed her budding wisdom and faith. Jesus responded to that wisdom and faith by answering her cries for help. He healed the daughter in an instant.
Like Jesus in Matthew 15, you will have to decide when to answer cries for help. Sometimes, those cries need to be answered by someone else. You may not have the ability or the means to help. The person may not want the help you can give. However, at critical moments, God will send people to you with a genuine cry for help. When that happens, you need to figure out if you are the one who can help best. You also will need to figure out what God wants you to do.
“When Rosina Hernandez was in college, she once attended a rock concert at which one young man was brutally beaten by another. No one made an attempt to stop the beating. The next day she was struck dumb to learn that the youth had died as a result of the pounding. Yet neither she nor anyone else had raised a hand to help him.
She could never forget the incident or her responsibility as an inactive bystander.
Some years later, Rosina saw another catastrophe. A car driving in the rain ahead of her suddenly skidded and plunged into Biscayne Bay. The car landed head down in the water with only the tail end showing. In a moment a woman appeared on the surface, shouting for help and saying her husband was stuck inside.
This time Rosina waited for no one. She plunged into the water, tried unsuccessfully to open the car door, then pounded on the back window as other bystanders stood on the causeway and watched. First she screamed at them, begging for help, then cursed them, telling them there was a man dying in the car.
First one man, then another, finally came to help. Together they broke the safety glass and dragged the man out. They were just in time—a few minutes later it would have been all over.
The woman thanked Rosina for saving her husband, and Rosina was elated, riding an emotional high that lasted for weeks. She had promised herself that she would never again fail to do anything she could to save a human live. She had made good on her promise.” (“Bits & Pieces”, June 24, 1993, Page 20-21)
It is important that you do not fail to answer a genuine cry for help when God wills you to reach out. The disciples in the story for today wanted Jesus to ignore a true cry for help. Jesus saw the need, realized it was time to help, and healed the daughter. Using the same logic, you will need to assess any cry for help. First, recognize a true call for help from a fake one. Some people cry out for help when they want others to take care of a problem they need to deal with themselves. If the cry for help is genuine, then you have to ask yourself if you are the one called by God to do something. If you are, then you need to find the right way to help. Jesus followed these steps to address the need of the woman in Matthew 15. It helps to follow His example.
You can’t help everyone who cries for help. But, when God shows you a genuine call for help, remember to answer that call. To refuse a genuine call for help when God is calling you to action will cause regrets that eat at your soul. The Holy Spirit will make sure of that.
When Jesus was ministering in the area of Tyre and Sidon, in areas bordering Gentile lands, He came across a Gentile woman who needed His help. The woman’s daughter was “possessed by a demon” (Matthew 15:22). Upon hearing that Jesus was in the area, the woman sought out Jesus. She approached Jesus and the disciples asking for help for her daughter. At first, they would not respond to her. Jesus had very important work to do. The woman was not a believer, not a Jew, and presumably did not know God. However, she did have faith in Jesus. She also had deeper wisdom, which became more apparent in the time she spent with Jesus. She persisted in calling for help from the disciples. They wanted to send her away (Matthew 15:23). In a sign of absolute faith in Jesus, the woman came over and fell before Jesus saying “Lord, help me!”. She wasn’t even pleading for herself. The woman’s faith spurred Jesus to question her further. Upon hearing her answers, her deep wisdom was apparent. Jesus healed her daughter.
Jesus’ disciples did not want Jesus to heal the woman. They wanted to send her away. Upon spending time with her, Jesus saw something holy in that woman. Her actions and responses revealed her budding wisdom and faith. Jesus responded to that wisdom and faith by answering her cries for help. He healed the daughter in an instant.
Like Jesus in Matthew 15, you will have to decide when to answer cries for help. Sometimes, those cries need to be answered by someone else. You may not have the ability or the means to help. The person may not want the help you can give. However, at critical moments, God will send people to you with a genuine cry for help. When that happens, you need to figure out if you are the one who can help best. You also will need to figure out what God wants you to do.
“When Rosina Hernandez was in college, she once attended a rock concert at which one young man was brutally beaten by another. No one made an attempt to stop the beating. The next day she was struck dumb to learn that the youth had died as a result of the pounding. Yet neither she nor anyone else had raised a hand to help him.
She could never forget the incident or her responsibility as an inactive bystander.
Some years later, Rosina saw another catastrophe. A car driving in the rain ahead of her suddenly skidded and plunged into Biscayne Bay. The car landed head down in the water with only the tail end showing. In a moment a woman appeared on the surface, shouting for help and saying her husband was stuck inside.
This time Rosina waited for no one. She plunged into the water, tried unsuccessfully to open the car door, then pounded on the back window as other bystanders stood on the causeway and watched. First she screamed at them, begging for help, then cursed them, telling them there was a man dying in the car.
First one man, then another, finally came to help. Together they broke the safety glass and dragged the man out. They were just in time—a few minutes later it would have been all over.
The woman thanked Rosina for saving her husband, and Rosina was elated, riding an emotional high that lasted for weeks. She had promised herself that she would never again fail to do anything she could to save a human live. She had made good on her promise.” (“Bits & Pieces”, June 24, 1993, Page 20-21)
It is important that you do not fail to answer a genuine cry for help when God wills you to reach out. The disciples in the story for today wanted Jesus to ignore a true cry for help. Jesus saw the need, realized it was time to help, and healed the daughter. Using the same logic, you will need to assess any cry for help. First, recognize a true call for help from a fake one. Some people cry out for help when they want others to take care of a problem they need to deal with themselves. If the cry for help is genuine, then you have to ask yourself if you are the one called by God to do something. If you are, then you need to find the right way to help. Jesus followed these steps to address the need of the woman in Matthew 15. It helps to follow His example.
You can’t help everyone who cries for help. But, when God shows you a genuine call for help, remember to answer that call. To refuse a genuine call for help when God is calling you to action will cause regrets that eat at your soul. The Holy Spirit will make sure of that.