In case you didn't know, I'm a creative writer. It's not something I do consistently, but that I have recently been doing more often. God graciously gave me revelation on Mark 7:24-30,&this is a Biblical fiction piece based on those revelations. This is a picture of intercession. I hope it blesses you...it sure blessed me!
Hot tears streamed down my face. I could hear her screaming in the next room.
Breathe. Breathe.
The harder I pressed the damp rag against my arm, the more it was stained crimson. She had scratched me deeply this time. Her demonic fits seemed to get worse every day. At first I thought it was just a strange reaction to a nightmare. But now they happened even when she was awake. She would convulse, scream, and yell out phrases in a language my human ears did not understand but made my heart shudder. She was only 5!
Suddenly, in a high pitched voice that I KNEW did not belong to Zoe, she screamed,
“HE’S HERE!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE’S HERE?!”
My heart pounded within my chest.
There’s someone that is a threat to this thing?
She…or more accurately it continued screaming
“NO! NO! NO! I WILL NOT GO! I WILL NOT GO BACK INTO THE PIT! HE CAN NOT FIND OUT I’M HERE!”
Inwardly I begged,
Who?! Who is here that can send this thing away!?
I turned to my head servant, who was assisting in aiding my wounds. She looked at me with both fear and hope in her eyes. She knew.
She almost inaudibly whispered,
“There’s a rumor that the famous prophet Jesus of Nazareth is staying at the house of Bar.”
My mouth went slightly agape.
“Doesn’t He…?”
“I heard that once…He casted 2000 demons out of a man.”
That had to be it. Without even thinking I dropped the rag, and ran out of the house. I ran so fast that the wind blowing in my face dried up my tears almost instantly. I was remembering other things about this man. He casted out demons. He healed the blind, the mute, the deaf! He loved children. He was compassionate. He was authoritative. He was my only hope.
I arrived at the house of Bar in 10 minutes. Out of breath, arm still bleeding, sweating profusely and hair clinging to my face I furiously banged on the door.
Come on, come on, COME ON!
The head servant opened the door. Instantly I grabbed his chest, thrust him to the side and ran past him into the house. It didn’t once cross my mind that I could be wrong and utterly disgraced by doing something so outrageous. Nothing seemed too outrageous to get to Him.
I heard conversation in the other room.
He must be there.
I bolted into the room. They were all sitting and lounging around talking…well, they were talking until I came in. Then the conversation halted abruptly. One man stood up in response. It wasn’t Bar. Bar was staring at me bewildered not only at my entrance, but at my unsightly appearance. The other men were either staring at me…or staring at the man standing. Some seemed to know that how He responded to me was more important than how I appeared. Between that and the calm, accepting look in his eyes, I knew.
That’s Him. That’s Jesus.
Before, I had wondered at how I should greet Him. After identifying Him, and meeting His gaze, I knew. There was no other option other than to cry out,
“LORD!”
I ran to Him and fell at His feet. Something about being in His presence broke me and I began sobbing. The conversation started up again but in hushed whispers.
“I’m sorry, I tried to keep your presence a secret.”
“What now?”
“This again?”
“Where in the world did she come from?”
“How long is she going to keep crying like that?”
The conversations were all judgments of me. But I didn’t care. I knew He allowed me to be at His feet, and that’s all that mattered. But this wasn’t about me right here, right now. This was about Zoe. I sobbed even harder at the thought of Zoe. Between choking sobs, I explained myself,
“Lord…please…my daughter…she is suffering. She is…tortured…by a demon. You are…the only one…who can save her…please…please…please just heal my daughter.”
There was utter and complete silence. I looked up at Him. His face was thoroughly compassionate. He had tears in His eyes. He opened His mouth, and then shut it again. A puzzled look came across His face…like He had remembered something. He pondered something. He took a deep breath and slightly hung his head. Squeezing His eyes shut He said softly, painfully and with a hint of bitterness,
“First let the children eat all they want….For it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
I stared at Him. There had to be more. There had to be! I waited for more. When He opened His eyes a tear trickled down His face. My heart stopped. I hung my head in shock and despair.
No….NO! No, this CAN’T be the answer! This can’t be true!
I looked up at Him again. This was the healer? The one who loved children? The wise teacher?! As much as doubt was hovering over my heart, as I gazed into His eyes, I knew that indeed…He was the healer. He was loving. He was compassionate. He was wise. I was faced with a choice. Was I going to believe my understanding of what He was saying to me, or was I going to believe in who He was? His gaze burrowed into my soul. He had the best in mind for me. He wasn’t out to harm me or my family. Swallowing my pride, I took a deep breath and took a stab at my request one last time,
““Lord…even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
He raised His eyebrows at me. More whispers went among the men.
“Who does she think she is?”
“He said no!”
“It’s this sort of pride that makes Him give such an answer.”
“Where do you think her daughter got the demons from?”
“This needs to stop.”
As much as I wanted to crawl away at the possibility of His rejection, I stared at Him. I waited for an answer. I would wait. He knelt down. I began to tremble.
What have I done?
Now…I can’t be sure…but as I looked at Him, for a second…just for a second…I think I saw a spark in His eyes. And an authoritative look briefly crossed His face like I have never seen before. It was only for a second…but I had never been so terrified in my life. However…His wrath wasn’t being aimed at me…but rather to someone…or something that was not in our physical presence. As quickly as I saw it, just as quickly it was gone. His eyes locked with mine. My stomach clenched. He smiled at me mischievously and said,
“For this statement you may go your way.”
Now I was the one who had a puzzled look come across my face. He winked at me and continued,
“The demon has left your daughter.”
Tears began streaming down my face. Without even seeing it with my own eyes, I knew she was healed. Zoe…Zoe had been healed. It seemed too good to be true, but I knew it was! He had given me life. He had given Zoe life.
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