4:31 – 44 Jesus left Nazareth and went to Capernaum, a town near Galilee. He taught there each Sabbath day in the synagogue. As with Galilee and Nazareth, the people were amazed at his teaching as he spoke with authority as his message was directly from God and not from the teachings of religious leaders of earlier generations that Jewish teachers often quoted. While he was teaching, a man possessed by a demon shouted, “Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!” The demon knew exactly who Jesus was and wanted him to leave as the demon was very happy and comfortable right where he was.
Jesus strongly ordered the demon, “Be quiet! Come out of the man.” The demon came out of the man, throwing the man to the floor as the crowd watched, and not hurting the man any further. Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!” This news spread throughout all the villages in the region.
The terms Jesus and the devil are not ones that I was very comfortable with growing up. Recently, since reading the Bible and learning about Jesus, I have begun to recognize when I have lost my focus and the devil is having his way with me. The devil does not want me to recognize Jesus or to have my focus on him. He did a great job of this during the first 50 years of my life! Once I started learning about Jesus, I had these thoughts that life would now be wonderful and all my fears, worries and life challenges would be a thing of the past. Life would now be like a bed of roses. In some ways, it is; however, there are still a lot of thorns that pull up here and there, and those thorns are the work of the devil, and are usually when I have lost my focus and go back to trying to do things all by myself – which is a very strong force that is within me and can easily come out.
One of my weaknesses is food. I use food as a crutch to damper feelings of not being good enough, or as comfort when going through very stressful life challenges. I could be eating very healthy and then I get a phone call that stresses me out, or something does not go my way, I receive bad news or I am challenged by someone to think differently about a situation that I feel very strongly about. I reach for something to munch on that is not healthy and it tastes so good! I suddenly start craving for that taste, whether it’s something sweet, salty or a quick fast-food meal. As I’m eating, I start to feel full and that somehow helps with the stress I felt earlier. This leads to several days, weeks or months of filling a craving that initiated from stress and then I start to not feel well. The devil is having fun with me and knows what my weaknesses are, and I oblige.
When I saw the moving “War Room,” I could start recognizing how ingrained the devil was with my thoughts, decisions, actions and response to stress. Once I could recognize it, I started calling the devil out saying “I am a child of God. I belong to God. Devil – get away from me and let me be!” Sometimes I would have to do this over and over in my mind and at times, the pressure started to level off and I felt better and could make decisions that were good for me emotionally, physically and spiritually. It was a practice though and the more I started doing this, the more I could begin to recognize when I was losing my focus and the devil was settling in, and the devil began to lose his grip on me at a faster pace.
I remember being in a Chick-Fil-A drive thru. I had been eating very healthy for a few days and all the aches and pains I had had over the years started getting better. I was feeling better and had more energy. I did have an 8yr old; however, who loved having a treat from Chick-Fil-A every now and then. He loved their cookies and cream milkshake. I love it as well – and we both love the whipped cream and cherry on top! I was trying to be healthy, so he would order the milkshake and I would ask for two cherries – one for him and one for me. I reasoned that eating a small cherry would satisfy any sweet craving and would not wreak havoc on my physical health.
We went through the drive thru and I ordered his milkshake – with the two cherries. When we got out of the drive through, he handed me my cherry. It had a little whipped cream and some of the milkshake on it. It tasted soooo good! Instantly, I had a craving for a whole milkshake. I reasoned with myself – I had been eating very healthy and deserved a milkshake as a treat. I then remembered my weakness for food and thought – OK. I’ll ask God if I can have this. It felt silly doing this and I believe at the time, I said it in my mind just as a joke: “OK God, can I have a milkshake? I’ve been very good.”
I envisioned getting a yes or no answer, well, if I’m being honest, I was thinking that I would not hear anything at all, which I would take as – “Sure! Go ahead and have one!” Instead, I heard, “Why do you want one?” Not the question I was looking for, and one that would stop and make me think – as I’m pulling out of the drive thru and heading back into the line to place my order. OK. I’ll play this game, I thought. “I have been good and the shake tasted so good that I wanted one myself. . . Did I mention that I was good?” Inside, I instantly recognized that this is something that I wanted, and not something I needed. I knew deep within that if I got a shake myself and drank it, not only would it taste really good, but it would open up my cravings for sweets and other food that I have been working so hard to avoid.
I knew this had nothing to do with the actual food, but more about my focus and free will. I asked God to help me with my food cravings, and he was – and I was blowing him off so that I could give in and eat what I wanted because “I had been good.” That was my reasoning for justifying something that deep down, I really didn’t want to do. I knew what would happen if I gave in while the temptations were still very strong in me, but I didn’t care. I wanted it. The question “Why do I want one?” was not there to say I can’t have it, but to examine the “why” behind my decision. What place was that decision coming from? I instantly knew that it was coming from the devil and that if I gave in, he would keep me hostage and my health and emotional status could be hurt as a result.
All this over one little milkshake! What was important though, is recognizing the why behind the thoughts, decisions and actions we take. Where is it coming from? I’m sure God would not have asked that question had I not asked for his help with my food cravings. There is nothing wrong with food. It is here to nourish our bodies, and nothing is really off limits or to be avoided; however, I had been using food as a crutch during stressful times and had asked God to help me make a change. I got out of the line and didn’t get the milkshake. There was an instant feeling of regret as I was craving the taste; however, that was quickly filled with a reminder of how good I was feeling physically and an appreciation for God in helping me to overcome an area in my life that I had asked for help with.
Multiply this one little incident over and over throughout the day, over many days, weeks, months and years. Just as Jesus experienced during his forty days in the wilderness, the devil will tempt us and when we win, as I did over a silly milkshake, he will go away and wait for another opportunity when we are at a weak point in our lives. Once we learn to walk with God through life, ask for his help and recognize when we are heading off in the wrong direction, God is right there with us ready to cast those demons out of us that are trying to wreak havoc on our lives!
Jesus Continues to Preach
Early the next morning, Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, the begged him not to leave them. They were learning about God’s word in a way they had not heard before and witnessing miracles. I’m sure they wanted Jesus to stay there so they could continue to ask him questions and witness the miracles that he performed. I know that I would want that.
Jesus responded, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns too, because that is why I was sent.” Jesus stuck to his mission and why he was sent here. I know that it must have been hard for him to leave. He was finally accepted and appreciated by people where he was teaching; however, he knew what he was here to do and kept his focus on his Father, God. He continued to travel from town to town, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.