What is faith? The Bible says that faith is confidence in what we hope for and the assurance that the Lord is working, even though we cannot see it. Faith knows that no matter what the situation, in our lives or someone else’s, that the Lord is working in it. Great things can only be achieved by those who have faith. But this faith is not simply faith in oneself but primarily faith in God. Without faith in God and relying only on ourselves, we become unsure of ourselves in the face of challenges and uncertainties. Using our human logic alone is not sufficient to undertake great tasks for God and for humanity. Only God can give us the strength and power if only we have faith in Him.
The problem with mankind since the Garden of Eden, the Tower of Babel and throughout history, is that we think that we are smarter than God. Always remember when “Man proposes, God, disposes!” Instead of responding to faith, people tend to act according to their limited mindset. They would rather constantly struggle by their own merits, limited strengths and lack of wisdom and only consider the difficulties when they face challenges. They do not rely on the power of God. This is the situation in our world today. God’s words are falling on deaf ears. We read that God was disappointed with the Israelites for their lack of faith. In spite of what the Lord had done for them, they had forgotten the power of God and His fidelity to them. So easily and quickly, they forgot how God delivered them from the hands of their enemies using His mighty hand and brought them across the Red Sea. After showing them what He could do for the people in helping them to flee from the mighty Egyptian army, they still did not have faith in God that He would lead them into the Promised Land. Indeed, the psalmist says, “Our sin is the sin of our fathers; we have done wrong, our deeds have been evil. They yielded to their cravings in the desert and put God to the test in the wilderness. They forgot the God who was their savior, who had done such great things in Egypt, such portents in the land of Ham, such marvels at the Red Sea.”
That is the reason why we need to have a daily sense of gratitude. Without gratitude, we will think that everything we have worked for and have in our lives are by our own merits. As long as we realize that we are NOTHING without God’s grace and mercy, we will continue with the ego and self-pride of achievement.
As with the Israelites, they were not ready to enter the Promised Land. As a consequence, the Lord punished the people saying, “In this wilderness, your dead bodies will fall, all you men of the census, all you who were numbered from the age of twenty years and over, you who have complained against me. For forty days you reconnoitered the land. Each day shall count for a year: for forty years you shall bear the burden of your sins, and you shall learn what it means to reject me.” If the people of Israel had to wander in the desert for forty years, it was because God felt that it was necessary to strengthen the faith of the Israelites before they settled in Canaan as they would be facing many enemies in the future; not just physical enemies but their faith would be adulterated because of the influence of the pagan religions and cultures. By the same token in our modern world, we are faced with many challenges which go against the laws of God which is based on truth, humanity will ultimately destroy itself when we promote same-sex union, abortion, euthanasia, IVF and the like. It’s almost politically incorrect to be a Christian when we keep the laws of God in check. In contrast, we have the faith of the Canaanite woman. She came to the Lord crying out aloud, “Sir, Son of David, take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a devil.” Right from the outset, she confessed her faith in Jesus as the Son of David. She professed her faith in the Lord. Her faith was unshakeable even when the Lord ignored her, so much so His disciples who felt embarrassed “went and pleaded with him. ‘Give her what she wants,’ they said ‘because she is shouting after us.’ In truth, the Lord wanted to stretch her faith and set her as an example to His own people, the kind of faith that is required for miracles to happen. Her faith enabled even the Lord to go beyond the narrow confines in His mission to reach out just to the Jews. So the Lord said to her, “‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.’ But the woman had come up and was kneeling at his feet. ‘Lord,’ she said ‘help me.’ He replied, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ She retorted, ‘Ah, yes, sir, but even house-dogs can eat the scraps that fall from their master’s table.’
Indeed, only those who have faith can go beyond their narrow understanding of life. There is always a danger that many of us put God in a little box and expect Him to work only according to the rules we have set for Him. The truth is that God can work outside our presumed expectations of Him. What He wants of us is our complete trust and faith in Him. An example of which His Mother has shown us by her fiat to God by saying “let it be done to me according to your will.”
Indeed, it was her humility that ultimately won the heart of Jesus. She was not angry to be called a house-dog. She not only accepted that she was not among the “children of God”, as the Jews were but went further to consider the Jews her ‘master’ by suggesting that even the house dogs belonged to the master. By so doing, she was claiming to be a child of God. Through her, the Lord came to understand that although they were not the Chosen Race, yet they still belonged to the one God. It was her persistence that demonstrated to the Lord her faith. Therefore, it is important that we practice the virtue of humility. For in humility, we will always be reminded that God is our master and we belong to Him. As His favored children, we trust the He will give us (His children) the best in our respective lives. It may not be what we expect or even for what we have prayed for but trust that it will ALWAYS be in our best interest. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” Matthew 7:11
If the lady could bear the insults and rejection of our Lord, it was not just her humility alone but rather her great love for her daughter. For the love of someone, we are ready to humble ourselves and ask for help even if it means sacrificing our pride and dignity. We can understand and appreciate the love of this mother for her daughter. The torment of her daughter caused her to spare no effort in asking the Lord to heal her. She put herself in the shoes of her daughter. Her misery and pain became her own. That is why, at the end of the day, great faith and humility must be spurred on by a great love for others and for God. If we love someone and if that person is sick or needs divine help, we, too, will pray fervently for that person, knowing that only God can heal and help him or her at the end of the day. Therefore, with Faith, comes Hope and the greatest is indeed Love.