Message: Jesus healed everywhere he went, and people were amazed after witnessing it, but when Jesus showed up at the Gadarenes it was the demons who recognized him immediately before he had even done anything. They called him out by name and begged and negotiated with him because they knew who he was and the power he had. I find it interesting that the demons tried negotiating with Jesus. I have seen that same kind of behavior with people when they discern they are losing power. After Jesus drove the demons out of the two men and they returned to their right minds, the people of the town were upset and asked him to leave. This has always confused me. I get it that they lost a lot when the pigs drowned in the sea, but how could they see two men be restored and still be upset? It seems to me that they preferred the dysfunction that they were used to living in because it was familiar and I recognize that nature in people too.
Command: Don’t fight the healing and order that Jesus wants to bring, and don’t try to negotiate out of my healing just because it feels uncomfortable.
Promise: When Jesus comes in he turns chaos into order, and healing and wholeness is the result.
Warning: When Jesus brings order it upsets the norm. We are so bent by the familiarity of our dysfunction that order actually feels like a disruptive chaos to our comfort. It’s tempting to allow those feelings influence us, but don’t miss out on the healing just because order doesn’t feel right to us.
Application: Lord Jesus, please show me the areas of my heart that I have tried to keep you out of- or the things I’ve tried to justify and negotiate with you about in order to hang onto unhealthy things. Help me to value your order and your healing above my level of comfort and familiarity.
