8: 26-39 They finally arrived at the other side of the lake, across from Galilee. As Jesus was climbing out of the boat, a man who was possessed by demons came out to meet him. The man had been homeless and naked for a long time, living in a cave outside of town and controlled by the demons within him. When demons entered a person, they were able to perform feats of great strength through the person they possessed. When the man was placed under guard and put in chains and shackles, he simply broke them and rushed out into the wilderness, completely under the demon’s power. Jesus instantly recognized the evil spirit in the man and had commanded it to come out of him.
Growing up, I heard of devil and demons, but didn’t believe they were real. I figured if I lived a good life and helped others, I would not have to worry about encountering them. I later learned that they are in fact, real. They are in our thoughts, our minds and our heart. My addiction to food – I have no desire to actually eat food that is unhealthy. Yes – it tastes great; however, from a logical standpoint, I know what it does to my body when I eat too much of it, but there are times when I encounter a stressful situation and all I can think about is food. I have literally eaten a big meal, felt full, drove to a meeting with a client, was worried about the encounter, passed by a fast food restaurant, pulled in, and ordered a meal to eat on the way to the appointment. I was not hungry at all; however, if a fast-food restaurant was up ahead, I would be tempted to turn in and place an order. Just one bite would instantly take the stress away. I tried to talk myself out of the desire as I knew from a logical standpoint, that I did not need or want the food. The desire got stronger though, much stronger than my own will, and I caved in and ordered a meal. The meal tasted great and I went into the meeting much calmer than I was when I left my office. As I would eat, I would feel the stress start to disappear – and the food tasted great! That was the devil playing with my mind, and I was not strong enough to stand up to it.
Once I had this realization, I could then begin seeing how much fun the devil had been having with me throughout my life – and it totally sucked! I could not believe that my thoughts were actually being controlled by someone other than myself, and I had no idea – and I was a willing participant! You would think now that I had the realization, I could control my mind, eat a healthier diet and learn better methods of dealing with stress; however, it is not that easy and in fact, once I had the realization, it became amplified. It is something that I deal with on a daily basis. I have good days and not so good days; however, things are progressively getting better – baby step by baby step.
As soon as the demon saw Jesus, it had the man fall down in front of him screaming, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please, I beg you, don’t torture me!” Jesus demanded, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied. A legion of Roman soldiers was a force of six thousand, so many demons possessed the man. The demons begged Jesus not to send them into the bottomless pit. They saw a large herd of pigs feeding on a nearby hillside and begged Jesus to let them enter into the pigs. He granted their request. They came out of the man, entered the pigs, and the entire herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned.
I watched the movie “War Room,” a very powerful representation of how to recognize the devil within our thoughts and lives and how to combat this evil spirit’s grasp on us. In the movie, the woman learns how to recognize when the devil is at play, she learns how to create a prayer room within her home, labeled the War Room, and how to tell the devil to go away. When I would recognize the devil in my thoughts, I began to say “Devil – get away from me. I am a child of God, and you are not welcome here. Leave! Now!” I was surprised that this actually works! It has taken some time and lots of practice, but I’m finally able to recognize when I am moving from walking with God into doing things on my own, giving the Devil an opportunity to start playing with me and my mind, and once recognized, asking Jesus for help with the battle and demanding that the devil leave me alone!
When the herdsman saw what happened, they fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news to everyone the encountered as they ran. People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been freed from the demons. He was sitting at Jesus’s feet, fully clothed and perfectly sane. Those who had witnessed what happened told the others how the demon-possessed man had been healed. The people became afraid after witnessing the man being returned back to normal. Jesus had exercised a power that revealed that he was in fact, the Messiah. They begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone. I’m sure their fear came from a sudden realization that Jesus could see what’s inside their hearts and they had many skeletons in their closets that they did not want to come to light. It was easier to ask Jesus to leave than to possibly face all the crap we accumulate inside ourselves – in our heart and our minds.
Jesus returned to the boat and left, crossing back to the other side of the lake. The man who had been freed from the demons begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him home saying, “No, go back to your family and tell them everything God has done for you.” Because he had been asked to leave, Jesus wanted the healed man to stay and testify what God had done for him. He went through the town proclaiming the great things Jesus had done for him.
It is very powerful to have someone who has gone through this realization and process to teach others and love them through their own process. I have had many wonderful people come along side me when I was learning and going through my process, and I am so grateful for them! I understand the man’s desire to go with Jesus after he healed him as it is so easy to stay in a comfortable environment where you are loved and supported, then to grow our own wings and learn how to fly, taking what we have learned and experienced to help others. The next step for me was to share what I had received with others, and to support them along their path, loving them along the way.