Great Is Thy Faith

Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. (Matthew 15:28)

This woman was a Canaanite, a Gentile with no covenant standing before God under the Old Testament arrangement. By every natural measure, she had no claim on Jesus. And yet she came anyway, pressing past every obstacle until Jesus Himself declared that her faith was great.

Her daughter wasn't healed because of the woman's background, religious credentials, or a long track record of keeping a covenant she was never part of in the first place. It happened because she believed who Jesus was. She looked at Him, saw the Messiah, and refused to let her outsider status keep her from approaching Him. Jesus responded to her persistence and her faith.

That should put to rest any sense of being disqualified from approaching Jesus for some reason. Healing and wholeness aren't handed out based on seniority or a good-enough résumé. They come in response to your faith. This woman had none of the boxes checked that people assume you need to be “spiritual,” and Jesus turned around and called her faith great. So whatever you think rules you out doesn't get the final say on whether Jesus responds to you. Your faith in who He is does.

Practical Application

Set aside any sense of disqualification you have been carrying, whether from your past, your spiritual history, or your current standing. Approach Jesus today with simple, direct faith, as this woman did.

Isaiah 49:6; Acts 10:34