Monday, December 15, 2008

It only Takes A Crumb

It only takes a crumb from the table of Jesus for healing to take place.

Matthew 15:22-28 - And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying: 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.

The woman in this story was a gentile from Canaan. At that time, Jesus was concentrating His message to the Jews. Therefore, he ignored her and then told her He was sent to the lost sheep of Israel. In her desperation for her child she was willing to beg for even the crumbs from the Savior. Jesus then gave her the thing she requested because of her faith.

Sometimes it is in our deepest moment of desperation that we are finally ready to reach out to someone other than ourselves to save us. Thankfully, it only takes that small crumb of faith for Jesus to hear us and come to the rescue. Although, the rescue may not always look like what we wanted, He does hear and respond.

I too have felt that desperation for a child and cried out for the crumbs off the table. In July 2006 I found myself on my knees for one of our children. Matthew was thrown through the windshield of a car doing 120 miles an hour. The car itself flew the length of a football field and Matthew flew at least fifty feet from the car. The car caught fire and there was nothing left of it. On the way to the hospital his prognosis was not good. They feared He would not even make it to the hospital but He did. The most severe injury to him was the head trauma that occurred from being thrown from the car.

We received the phone call that every parent dreads. One o'clock in the morning a frantic voice on the other end of the line tells you your child is hurt and on the way to the hospital. My husband threw on his clothes, grabbed his keys and was headed to the hospital. I was left behind to do the only thing I could do, to pray.

The following three weeks as we took turns at the hospital and watched our son struggle to live, I began to beg for crumbs. There was not much encouragement from the doctors during this time. As the days ticked by, the news became worse. If he did recover, he would likely have brain damage. He would probably never be the same person again. The recovery would be six months to a year. He would have to relearn everything.

I searched the scriptures and found every verse on healing in the bible. I claimed them all as everyday broke me further. I found myself not just on my knees but on my face pleading for God's touch for our son. As I read the scripture in James 5:14 a small voice inside me said "I will heal him, gather them." I took that as a word from God and we did just that. We called the elders of the church; they gathered at the hospital and prayed over him. There were 25 people in the ICU Trauma care unit that night as prayers went up to heaven. Three days later the breathing tube was taken out and Matthew woke up. One weak later he was released from the hospital, he was evaluated at rehab and passed with flying colors. He is a walking miracle with no trace of injury left from the accident.

I am not saying to you "if you just believe enough you will be healed" or "you will get what you ask if you just have enough faith." What I am saying is that in my hour of need I sought God with everything I knew. He could have done things differently. He could have told me no, I will not heal him and I would have accepted that. I would have accepted it because He does have our best interest at heart. Yes, I prayed for healing, but if the answer would have been no, I then would have prayed for strength and courage as we persevered through.

What we do is ask in faith, from the depths of our hearts and accept the answer what ever it is. Someone once said, "God always answers in the deeps, never in the shallows of our souls." Are we in deep intimacy with God when we pray? Or are we splashing in the shallow end?

What ever it is in your life that need God’s healing today, I urge you, jump in the deep end.

It only takes a crumb from Him to change things.

7 comments:

Ben said...

This passage always made me feel that Jesus was being unfair, but in reality he was not,he was focused on God's plan. It is important to note that he could not refuse such a heartfelt plea even if it did not go perfectly according to His will. He had to act and he still does act in compassion... But, sometimes like you said the answer is No. Whenever the answer is a No, we will understand later that it was for our good.

How is your Son doing now?. All glory and Honor to the LORD who guards his people. The Keeper of Israel does not slumber neither does he sleep.

Robin said...

That is a great testimony of faith. So sorry that you had to go through that but God does here our prays as you say. Thankfully, I have not had a bad occurance for my daughter yet, I am sure the day will come. But I have found myself in desperation for God on my knees, giving Him all of me, so I can experience all of Him. It was a very painful time, but one where He poured out His presence onto me in a powerful way. I love having that deep intimacy with Him and pray that I will experience more of it in my life.

Joanna said...

Thanks so much for sharing your story about your son and your time of crying out to the Lord. I appreciate that you know that God does have our best interest at heart, whatever his decisions are. So thankful He chose to heal your son. What a testimony.

(Thanks also for checking out my blog recently)

http://makingJesusmypearl.blogspot.com

Joyfulsister said...

Amen!! I called those deep times " My Soul Cries" you know those times when you can't cry, you can't pray, all that come through are moans and groans from deep deep within. it's as if the tears go deep within the deepest part where God meets you there. What a testimony you shared..poerful my sistah!!

Hugz Lorie

Anonymous said...

It was like a rock thrown in a pond. The mirical we saw effeted so many, more than we will ever know. To God be the Glory! I Love you and thank God that he put you into my life.
David

Sherri Watt said...

Thanks everyone and God bless. Our son is doing great, a week after he left the hospital it was like the accident never happened. God is amazing!

Anonymous said...

i am very happy to here this wonderful outcome.

thank you for sharing your story.