Never doubt God’s compassion for us

THE story of the Canaanite woman who begged Christ to cure her daughter who was tormented by a demonic possession (cfr. Mt 15,21-28) should clearly remind us that no matter how God may appear at first to be deaf and insensitive to our appeals, we should never doubt his compassion for us. He always hears us and has the best things for us.

We should just persevere in begging him, because what may appear as God ignoring us or even rejecting us is actually his way of making us grow in our faith in him. We should just be humble enough and try to clutch as tightly as possible to whatever strand of faith we may still have in God. To be sure, God always listens and acts on our importunings, even if we seem to annoy him.

We should just overcome whatever fear or shame we may have to approach God our Father. To him, we will always be a child who can give him great joy whenever we act like the lost sheep and the lost coin that are finally found or the prodigal son who has decided to return to the father.

With just a little flicker of faith and repentance, the heart of God would readily melt into compassion and mercy. In the case of the Canaanite woman, for example, Christ immediately gave in to her request when she did not relent with her request despite the apparent initial rebuke.

We have to see to it that we keep that faith alive and burning. And to make that faith vibrant, we need to keep ourselves always in love. It’s love that keeps our faith going. It should be a love that goes beyond good intentions, sweet words and nice feelings. It has to be expressed in deeds.

Sometimes God tests our faith if only to purify and strengthen it. We should just persist in going to him even if he seems to reject us. With God we should not be afraid or ashamed. He always cares for us.

This should be the attitude to have. It’s an attitude that can only indicate our unconditional faith and love for God who is always in control of things, and at the same time can also leave us in peace and joy even at the worst of the possibilities.

We have to follow the example of the many characters in the gospel who, feeling helpless in the many predicaments they were in, earnestly rushed to Christ for some succor. They went to him unafraid and unashamed and they got what they wanted.

It may happen that we may not get what we want. And in this, we should not be too surprised or too worried. What is sure is that God always listens and gives us what is best for us.

If our request is granted, it’s because it is good for us. If our request is not granted, it could be because what we asked is actually not good for us. Examples of this kind of cases are aplenty, and many would later on realize how lucky they were that what they asked for was not granted.

We should not forget that God will always listen to us and will act on our requests promptly and in the best way for us, considering both our immediate and the ultimate needs, and no matter how imperfect the object, motives and manner of our petitions may be.