He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak

"He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret.  In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet.  The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia.  She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter." Mark 7: 24-26.

This is the story in which Jesus tells the woman that the children have not yet had their fill, and is it really right to give the children's food to the dogs?  The woman persists and says that even the dogs eat the crumbs from the children's table. 

The story that follows this is about a man who is deaf and mute, and how Jesus "even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." Mark 7:37. 

I was thinking about this - about deafness and muteness, both physical and spiritual.  Is there a message here for me? 

When we need something, our ears are opened to the help available.  When my car is broken down, I am alert to all the possible repair shops nearby.  Suddenly I see things that before, I was not attuned to.  In a similar way, the woman's daughter is possessed by a demon, and the woman keenly felt the need for healing.  Was she then more attuned to Jesus's presence?  Maybe she thought, "Ah! Here is someone who can help!" Even if the chances are slim that He will notice, or be what people are claiming He is.  Her need causes her to see Him.  Her need causes her to hope in Him.  If she was unaware of her need, maybe she would not seize upon His arrival in Tyre in exactly this way.

Secondly, her need gives her courage.  I have been in circumstances where needing something will make me a little more persistent than at other times.  Say it has been a hard month financially, and a new expense comes up.  Ordinarily, I pay expenses without trying to bargain for something more reasonable. But when I am in need, I persist.  I ask the questions I ordinarily don't have the courage to ask. 

Maybe this woman's need offers her the courage to persist with Jesus, and it seems this is the answer He is pleased with.  "No, Jesus, don't you get it? I might not be a Jew, but even as a Gentile, I need You too!"  I can imagine Jesus thinking, "Exactly.  This is exactly what I want you to see.  You need me, because I didn't just come for the Jews, I came for everyone.  It is necessary for you to feel the need of Me too."

So I wonder:

Is it possible that our needs are a gift to us?

I wonder if sometimes Jesus brings us (or life brings us) to a time of need, precisely so that Jesus can draw us into the awareness that He is the answer. 

And in a different way, maybe this is how he makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.  Our need causes us to hear Him.  Our need causes us to speak out to Him.