Do you prefer the presence and power of Jesus Christ over the demonic realm?
You may immediately answer yes; however, I would caution that we get comfortable with what we live with. It is easy to adjust to our surroundings rather than allow Jesus in to bring healing.
The media loves to create ghost stories around cemeteries causing us to jump out of our skin. In Mark 5, Jesus comes face-to-face with a creature from which the town could tell great tales. I can imagine the parents warning the children against playing hide-n-seek in the graveyard due to the fear and terror that this demon-possessed man carried.
However, every demon must bow at the feet of Jesus Christ, and when the man, with his associated demons, sees Jesus, he runs up to him and kneels.
The demoniac was a man who no human had been able to bind. His strength was from the demonic realm, and he did not recognize local authority. However, when Jesus stepped into the demonic territory, it was immediately recognized that the camp was about to be plundered. The demon knew that their numbers did not matter because Jesus, an army of one, had more authority and was stronger than they would ever be.
As the town watches, this man is delivered of his horde of demons and restored to the man that God created him to be.
How would you react at that moment?
I want to think that I would rejoice, which is what I expect from others. However, that is not how the town responded. The people’s response was to ask Jesus to leave. The town had embraced the demonic as part of their town, their environment, and their legacy. Because of this embrace, they missed all that Jesus carried and could not rejoice with the man in his freedom.
The culture demands that we conform to standards equivalent to the demon-possessed man in the graveyard. Each time we walk by and forget the power of God, we accept evil as good and will see good as evil (Isa 5:20). We do the same thing that this town did and tell the Lord that we would instead align with the demonic realm rather than the Heavenly realm.
The man, who was healed, begs to go with Jesus. The town was unable and unwilling to rejoice with him. However, Jesus tells him to stay and to tell people what has happened.
Jesus can be kicked out, shoved out, and pushed out. But there will always be a way for the gospel to go forth. The question is, have you become more comfortable with the demonic realm than with the fullness of the Kingdom of Heaven?
Heavenly Father, forgive me for any time I have aligned with the demonic realm and stayed in my comfort zone. I ask you to give me courage to explore the fullness of life and freedom that you have for me. I do not what to be the one asking you to leave. It is my heart’s desire to be the one asking you to stay and teach me your ways. In Jesus name. Amen.
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