The stunner behind Mikey’s healing

A few weeks back, our pet pug Mikey, woke up sick.

Courtesy https://www.instagram.com/seantahan/

Unlike most mornings, we could not see him sniffing around or hear him bark until he is served. That morning he refused to eat. He  wobbled and seemed unable to stand steady on his legs.

So, we prayed over him.

With continuous rains and the ongoing social distancing, we were not too convinced whether we should find a vet. One reason was because we wanted to be careful about taking him out and what is prescribed to him but more because all these years, there has been no need for any such check-up or treatment for Mikey. An experienced pet supply store owner close to our house gave an ointment to apply over his paws and suggested we give him half a tablet of cetrizine.

For two days he refused to eat and wasn’t showing any improvement. He looked  weak and appeared to be getting breathless.

With so much bad news going around because of Covid-19, Mikey being in this condition added to the stress and uneasiness. It brought in an anxious and gloomy atmosphere.

The third night, we gathered as a family wanting to believe differently during our family prayer time, I began with a question ‘Why do you think God will heal Mikey? After all he is a dog, he does not read the Word, he does not pay tithes or give offerings, he does not testify to God’s goodness? So why should God heal him?’

‘Because God made animals’ was the answer from one of our kids.

It was an ok enough answer for me, but not one that I was looking for.  

In my heart, I was convinced of the mercy of God, so I said to my family. ‘I believe God will heal Mikey because the Lord is merciful, so let us all believe that Mikey will be totally fine by tomorrow’

Our Bible reading for the day was Mathew 15

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”

 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

Jesus indirectly compared her to a dog, and it seems to me that He did it intentionally but not with an intent to hurt her. The woman wanted a great miracle. And a great miracle is often preceded by a great time of testing. Despite Jesus’ taunt, the woman didn’t give up. It didn’t matter whether she qualified for a miracle or not. She pleaded for mercy in her time of need. Impressed by her persistent faith, Jesus was compelled to grant her miracle.

After reading the scripture passage, I explained it a bit and repeated the question again ‘Why do you think Mikey would be fine by tomorrow?’

“Because Jesus is Merciful’.

This time everyone answered confidently as we ended our family devotional and prayer time.

The next morning, Mikey came to the dining table and began to sniff and bark in his usual style. It was the bark we had longed to hear for three days. The limping stopped, there was no wobble in his walk, his breathlessness stopped, and he was back to his energetic, enthusiastic self, doing his usual mischief.

When people came to seek help from Jesus, the Bible mentions that Jesus was moved with compassion. He is the same yesterday, today and forever, the loving and merciful nature of God revealed.

The understanding of God’s mercy by reading the scripture raised our faith.

The mercy of the Lord was the stunner behind Mikey’s healing.