The Demon Possessed Man - Tokyo Drift

Luke 8:34-35 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in the city and out in the country. The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened.

It's the car chase scene. We've probably seen it in most action films out there. The bad guy has escaped and he's stolen someones' car and is getting away. The good guy stops someone driving by and takes the car to chase after the murderer so that he will never kill again. The next scene is usually the owner of said car - cursing at the good guy. It's true what they say - the good guy finishes last.

That's certainly the case in what happened to Jesus here in Luke 8. Jesus has called the demons out of this poor guy and sent them into the pigs and the pigs have died. The guys who make their money off of raising these pigs, are not all too happy about the fact that their income has just taken a nose dive into the river. Parallel to the owner of the car cursing the good guy.

These men, took their version of the story and relayed it to the people in and around the city. And like many people who get their story from the media instead of actually seeing it happen, they receive a biased opinion of what actually took place. It was not, "Jesus saved this man from the torture that he'd been saddled with for so long. Jesus, all powerful, has commanded these evil demons away and they went into pigs and drowned. The man is now cured." It was probably more like this, "This Jesus consorts with the devil and they plan together. They have overtaken our herds and killed them all, leaving us with nothing." Why else would the people be in such fear of Jesus when they arrived and saw the demons gone?

How many times are we so wrapped up in what's happening to us, that we can't see what God may be trying to accomplish in our situation. Do we see losing a $10 bill out of our purse a reason to rejoice, probably not. But did we get to see the single mother who prayed for some bread and a gallon of milk picking it up in the parking lot an hour later? Phillipians 4:4 - Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! In all things give thanks - we don't know what He has planned, but be assured - it is great.