“He answered her not a word.”

- Matthew 15:23-28 says:
23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and besought Him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24 But He answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 Then came she and worshipped Him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But He answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. 28 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.
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Genuine seekers, who as yet have not obtained the blessing they are looking for, may take comfort from the story before us. The Saviour did not at once give the blessing, even though the woman had great faith in Him. He intended to give it, but He waited awhile.

“He answered her not a word.” Were her prayers not any good? Never better in the world. Was not her case needy? Very sorrowfully and needy she was. Did she not feel her need sufficiently? She felt it overwhelmingly. Was she not earnest enough? She was intensely so. Had she no faith? She had such a high degree of it that even Jesus marveled, and said, “O woman, great is thy faith.”

See then, although it is true that faith brings peace, yet it does not always bring it instantaneously. There may be certain reasons calling for the trial of faith, rather than the reward of faith. Genuine faith may be in the soul like a hidden seed, but as yet it may not have budded or blossomed into joy and peace.

A painful silence from the Saviour is a serious trial of many people that are truly seeking with all their hearts, but heavier even still is the difficulty of a harsh cutting reply such as this, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.”

Many while waiting on the Lord find instant delight, but this is not the case with all of us. Some, like the jailer, are in a moment turned from darkness to light, but others are plants that have a slower growth period. A deeper sense of sin may be given to you instead of a sense of pardon, and in such a case you will have to have patience to bear this heavy blow.

Ah, but poor heart, even though Christ may beat and bruises you, or even allows you to die, trust Him; even though He should give you an angry word, believe in the love of His heart. Do not, I beg you, give up seeking or trusting my Master, because you have not yet obtained the conscious joy which you long so much for. Throw yourself on Him, and perseveringly depend on Him even where you can not yet rejoice in the hope you seek.