Luke 8:28-29 Seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me." For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.
This verse clarifies that Jesus was not consorting with the devil when He meets up with these demons. The demons know His power and what the possible outcome could be. They go to Him for mercy. It's true that those who don't believe Jesus was who He said, will use whatever reason they can find to knock Him down, but the truth remains - the demons KNOW who Jesus is and they are begging for their existence.
A demon dwelling in a body doesn't need food. It doesn't need water. It doesn't need an arm without a broken bone. It doesn't need any of those things. We, as humans, know that we need these things to keep our bodies functioning properly. Food and water to maintain energy, and making sure our muscles and bones stay healthy to keep our bodies in motion. If we don't get these things, we have nerves and pain sensors that let us know our body needs repair - the pain doesn't stop until we fix our body. When the demons break the chains and shackles - they don't feel that, but I bet the man whose body their using does. The heat of the desert won't deter a demon, but the man who is dehydrated and swollen knows what his body is missing and he has no control over it. I can't imagine the pain and agony that this man who is demon-possessed went through. Surely he still feels the pain even though he couldn't stop the action of his own body.
While these verses are talking about actual demons, there are demons of our own making that we allow in our lives as well. The little sins that we let take over and while it's happening, we don't seem to have any control over it - but when it's done and we've laid it on the cross - we can still feel the pain and the scars and the aftermath of what that sin has done.
1 comment:
I believe that the devil rejoices in seeing us in pain. He doesn't cause us to do wrong he simply gives us the choice and sets the stage and we make poor choices. He knows that man is prone to sin so all he has to do is give us the opportunity. I also believe that when we get closer to God, the devil offers us more bad choices. It's up to us to hold God close to our hearts to keep the Devil at bay.
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