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We all know the experience of needing something, targeting a goal, and being unable to get through. Despite the strength of will and the clarity of intentions, we cannot achieve according to the timetable. At this point, we plead for help and ask the ones whom we think can help us best to come to our assistance. There is great hope and confidence that we can go through with a little help.
But not all are fortunate to have people helping them always. Many of us know the pain of rejection when we appeal for help. Rejection can sometimes take varied forms.
Some express rejection by silent indifference. There is a loving silence. There is a fearful silence. There is a listening silence. There is a reverential silence. There is also a hostile silence. This silence ignores the plea for help. People pretend that they do not see us. We become invisible to them, and they see through us. They look at us, and they look like they are staring at a blank wall. They will not share any fun; they will not explain sadness. They play deaf and dumb and blind and consider us as non-existent. This rejection by silent treatment hurts.
There are some who reject us by talking against us and stabbing us from behind. If they stab you in the back, It only means you are in front of them. You are ahead, and they are just behind you. Backstabbers reject people in front of them by talking against them when they and hot around. They can sow innuendoes and intrigues and set a whole city afire with gossip.
There are some others who reject the appeal for help by outright insult. They are not silent; they do not talk from behind; they face you upfront, call you names, and hurt your self-esteem. They leave you devastated, running away with your self-confidence. They do not help us. They tell us we are good for nothing and that helping us is a waste of time and energy.
I know somebody who was made to undergo all these yet remained undaunted. She received a silent treatment of hostility, and yet she persisted. She became the object of ridicule, and yet she remained steadfast. She was insulted, called names, and pleaded just for a little help. The storyteller did not even give the person I am referring to a proper name. She was simply called the Canaanite woman who approached the Lord to heal her daughter. She was rebuked, insulted, and rejected, and yet she persevered.
Persevere! What a beautiful word! There are two words in that powerful world: per-severe. It means the capacity to severe through. It means the clarity of intention to reach the goal, going against all odds, and being ready to hurdle all obstacles to make dreams come true. To persevere is what we need now. We need to keep our enthusiasm afire. The Canaanite woman was finally given what she was asking for. She got the miraculous healing for her daughter, according to her plea. However, I believe that she was already a winner even if she did not get the healing. She was a champion of perseverance, faith, hope, and love. She did not allow the silent hostility, the outright rejection, or the backstabbing to dampen her intentions. At the end of the day- those who refuse to help, those who reject arrogantly, those who stab mercilessly, and those who desire our death are the losers.
KEEP GOING
Jesus Our Light
