Desperate

A woman who had heard about him came and fell at his feet. Her little girl was possessed by an evil spirit, and she begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter. Mark 7:25-26

A DESPERATE MOTHER —desperate for Jesus to do something about the evil that had taken hold in her daughter’s life —must have felt a flicker of hope when she first heard about him. Surely she listened eagerly as people described how he’d fed the hungry, cleansed the leper, given sight to the blind, and raised a paralytic to walk. Clearly this Jesus was a person of compassion. More important, he was a man of power. And this mother was tired of being so helpless, so alone, so afraid.

So she came to where Jesus was and fell down before him. She begged him to release her child from the demon’s control. She put herself at the feet of the only one who had the power to overcome the evil in her child’s life. A bundle of hurt and need begging for a crumb of grace.

As a Gentile, this woman had no sense of entitlement to the deliverance she knew Jesus could provide. Yet she seemed to understand that God had always intended for his grace and goodness to spread beyond the boundaries of those who appeared to have the inside track based on religiosity or race. Jesus affirmed her recognition that he was the only hope for her daughter so trapped in the cords of evil. He healed the little girl from afar, making this bold and persistent mother the recipient of his undeserved favor.

Lord, I come to you so aware of the evil that has so much power in this world and in my child’s life. I know there are unseen forces at work that want to destroy her life and dishonor you. Like this woman in Tyre, I’m well aware of your power and ability to relieve suffering and overcome evil. So I’m putting myself at your feet. I’m begging you to save ________ from the enemy of her soul. I’m asking for a taste, a crumb, of all that awaits us in the new creation —when evil will be gone for good —to be given to us in the here and now. Let our family taste the joy of freedom from this evil power. I come not demanding or with any sense of entitlement, but confident in your power, your grace, and your goodness.