Yesterday my Proverbs 31 devotion arrived in my email. (I signed up to receive these emails about a week ago. I’m a person who has always struggled with the idea of consistent devotions, and in the past week, I’m proud to say I haven’t missed reading a single devotional. It’s something about the convenience of having it waiting in my inbox first thing in the morning.)
Little did I know how close yesterday’s devotional would hit home. The title was “When God Says No, Keep Asking.” For some reason that title struck me as a little odd. Maybe it was because somewhere along the line I was taught that once God answers, accept the answer and move on.
Sharon, the devotional writer, used two examples that really opened my eyes to the truth behind the title. Her first example was the Canaanite woman from Matthew 15:22-28. The woman’s daughter was possessed with demons and the woman went to see Jesus in hopes of having her daughter healed. “And behold a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord…my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word.”
Wow! Jesus didn’t even speak to her. How often do we get miffed when someone ignores us? Our feathers get ruffled and our blood pressure rises. Not so with the Canaanite woman. In fact, “his disciples came and besought him saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.” The disciples wanted to send her away because she was still asking! She continued to worship Jesus and after what appears to be a passage of time (“Then came she” – meaning she had left and came back again), she asked again, “Lord, help me.” I’m not sure what Jesus’ response means in vs. 26 but I completely understand vs. 28! “O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” Her prayer was answered how she wanted it answered! Her daughter was healed!
The other example that Sharon uses is from the story of Jacob and his wrestling with God (Genesis 33). Jacob wanted God’s blessing and he refused to let go of God til he received that blessing. In fact, Jacob received a broken leg as a result but he had God’s blessing in the end. There’s something to be said about remaining steadfast in our pleadings.
Why did these examples hit close to home? For almost four years, my husband and I have been dealing with the workers compensation system. It is so easy to give up, throw our hands up in the air and act down on our luck because of the lack of medical treatment, no income, and constant dealings with attorneys. Have we done that? Yes, on multiple occasions – we’re human. Do we remember that God is in control? Sure. And at times it seems like all we do is plead with God for answers, progress etc.
We do make progress and at times we take one step forward and two steps backward like this week. In June a doctor gave us a referral to a local orthopedic doctor. We sent the referral to our attorney, it went through the legal hoops, we received authorization – in somewhat record time (6 weeks) – and we waited for the appointment to be scheduled. And we waited…and waited. This week we learned that the orthopedic doctor’s office won’t accept the referral because it is out-of-state comp.
Talk about deflation. This doctor is one of the best in the area and we were excited about finally being able to see a doctor who might be able to help. Of course, the situation begged a few questions such as why wasn’t the comp question addressed in the beginning before it was authorized, why didn’t the doctor’s office let us know when they received the authorization forms that they wouldn’t see him, etc.
So in light of yesterday’s devotional, I have decided to continue to pray and plead that Jerry be allowed to see Dr. Krivchenia. Tomorrow we see the original doctor that made the referral and I’m hoping that he’ll be able to pull some of his doctor strings and get Jerry an appointment. I know God is in control. And I’m going to continue to plead with God that the whole comp situation be resolved soon, to our liking and not comp’s. It’s possible – look at the Canaanite woman. 
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