Sunday, January 26, 2014

Demons

I've been reading through the Bible chronologically, and I just recently started the New Testament. This has been so great, and I've loved seeing the different styles of the Gospel writers side by side.

On Friday, we had a bad weather day which meant I got to stay in bed longer and spend extra time with my precious Savior and His Word. I was reading Luke 8 when the Lord decided to blow my mind a little bit.

Luke 8: 26-39

The first thing that grabbed my attention was that this particular man was named Legion (vs. 30) because he was filled with so many demons. I always thought that when people cast out demons it was usually a singular demon. I thought it was interesting and then kept reading.

The next thing is saw was that the demons in the man were asking Jesus not to send them to the Abyss (vs. 31). The Abyss (Hell) being capitalized meant that it is an actual place, and the demons didn't even want to go there. Inhabiting a human (and later a herd of pigs) was better for them than being sent to Hell. If the demons don't want to go there, why do so many refuse to follow Christ and send themselves there? This opened my eyes to see my friends a little differently, and that I would never want them to go there either. Maybe my temporary uncomfortableness needs to happen more frequently for the sake of the people I care for. Food for thought.

The last thing, and probably the thing that rocked my world the most, was that the demons were begging Jesus, repeatedly (vs. 31). Not once. REPEATEDLY. And again in verse 32. WOAH. Even the demons recognized that Jesus is sovereign, and whatever He said was going to happen. If demons, who serve the devil, know this and their actions reveal it, why do my actions so often portray my imagined control? Instead, I should be humbling myself before Christ and letting Him be in control. I should be begging Him with the things on my heart because, in reality, He is the only one with control. 

Why do we do this? Why can the demons recognize this and we have to continually succeed with Christ, take over control, fail, repent and submit, then succeed with Christ, take over control, and repeat this vicious cycle to learn lessons? Why can't we learn the lesson and never revert back to our sinful ways? 

Answer: We're broken people. Who need Jesus. Every day.

I think God likes blowing our minds. It forces us to see how small we are and how big He is. I've been pondering these questions all weekend, and I love that He wants me thinking so deeply about His truths. I am very thankful that God is sovereign, and that I am not. Hopefully, God blew your mind a bit too. 

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