Peace be to you, dear readers of our online page! This „Daily Word for Spiritual Edification” is meant to meet your spiritual needs. I hope it helps you. We would like to hear your response.
The story of the woman from Canaan has taught us several lessons:
- The example of Jesus has taught us the importance of being alone with God.
- We have learned that prayers of parents have tremendous power and are able to do great miracles.
- We also learned how important it is to model right things for our children and the people we lead because they copy the things that we do and not the things that we say.
- Besides we realized that when praying to God we should not lose heart even if it seems that the answer is delayed.
Today I want to point out how important it is to overcome ‘human factor’.
«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» (Mathew, 15: 22-23).
At the time when a woman from Canaan was following Jesus and asking for help, His disciples were telling her to leave. That is what I call a human factor.
Human beings always want to stand between God and us. If we don’t learn to overcome „the human factor” we are never going to receive our miracle from God.
In this case, a woman came to Jesus to ask for help, but His disciples stood between them. They were saying that she was bothering Him and that she should leave. If she had not stepped over this barrier created by the disciples of Jesus – this human factor, she could have gotten offended and left without her miracle.
Blind Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus to have mercy on him, and at that very time people were yelling at him and demanding him to be quiet and not bother the Teacher. But Bartimaeus cried even louder and overcame the human factor that stood in the way of his miracle. Because of that, he regained his eyesight (see Mark, 10: 46-52).
Once some parents brought their children to Jesus so He could bless them, but His disciples started to drive them away telling them not to bother Jesus. Jesus forbade them to behave like that and allowed children to come to Him (see Мathew, 19: 13-15).
Four friends decided to bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus, but because of the crowds they could not get close to Him. Nevertheless, they had learned to overcome the ‘human factor’; they got on the roof, took it apart and lowered their friend right before Jesus. As a result they received their miracle; their friend was healed (see Mark, 2: 1-5).
A woman with an issue of blood wanted to touch Jesus, but there was a huge crowd between them. This woman overcame the human factor, got focused on her goal and finally reached Jesus, thus receiving her miracle from God (see Luke, 8: 43-48).
Yes, human factor exists, but we need to learn to overcome it, and then we will receive our miracles. Maybe you are seeking God’s help, maybe you need a miracle from God, but there are people in your way. Maybe these people are hurting you and creating unnecessary barriers; even if that is the case, do not give up.
Hannah was grieving because of her barrenness; she went to the temple and prayed to God, pouring out her heart, her pain and her need. The priest saw her and thought she was drunk. But Hannah was able to overcome the offence and focus her attention wholly on God. And she received her miracle and bore a son whom she named Samuel. Hannah was persistent in her prayers (see 1 Samuel, 1: 10-17).
In order for you to be constant in this life you need to overcome the human factor. You should not listen to what people are saying; you should concentrate on God and move towards your goal. And only then you will be able to get your victory from the Lord. Just like this woman from Canaan who was indifferent towards what the disciples of Jesus were saying about her.God is saying to you today: if you want to see God’s intervention in your life, you have to learn to overcome the human factor and concentrate your attention on God and His Word.
Be blessed!
Pastor Rufus Ajiboye
