"Faith or Fear?" (Part 2)

So they arrived in the land of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee. As Jesus was climbing out of the boat, a man who was possessed by demons came out to meet him. Homeless and naked, he had lived in a cemetery for a long time. As soon as he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell to the ground before him, screaming, "Why are you bothering me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please, I beg you, don't torture me!" For Jesus had already commanded the evil spirit to come out of him. This spirit had often taken control of the man. Even when he was shackled with chains, he simply broke them and rushed out into the wilderness, completely under the demon's power. "What is your name?" Jesus asked. "Legion," he replied – for the man was filled with many demons. The demons kept begging Jesus not to send them into the Bottomless Pit. A large herd of pigs was feeding on the hillside nearby, and the demons pleaded with him to let them enter into the pigs. Jesus gave them permission. So the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the whole herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake, where they drowned. When the herdsmen saw it, they fled to the nearby city and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, for they wanted to see for themselves what had happened. And they saw the man who had been possessed by demons sitting quietly at Jesus' feet, clothed and sane. And the whole crowd was afraid. Then those who had seen what happened told the others how the demon-possessed man had been healed. And all the people in that region begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for a great wave of fear swept over them. So Jesus returned to the boat and left, crossing back to the other side of the lake. The man who had been demon possessed begged to go, too, but Jesus said, "No, go back to your family and tell them all the wonderful things God has done for you." So he went all through the city telling about the great thing Jesus had done for him. (Luke 8:26-39 NLV).

Yesterday, in part one of this little series we read from the first part of this episode how the disciples were afraid they would die in the storm on the sea. Immediately after landing safely on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, they are confronted with a demon possessed man. Jesus confronts the demons who had driven the man to insanity and sends them out of him. The key to the cure of this individual is in the explanation from Luke that “they saw the man who had been possessed by demons sitting quietly at Jesus’ feet, clothed and sane.” It is a marvelous picture of the power and promise of God for all of us. There are so many different ways Satan has of robbing us of our peace. The root of all of his power over our lives rests in the use of fear. Fear and faith cannot operate in our lives simultaneously. One must win over the other. It is the nature of each belief.

Let me emphasize that fear is not caution. There is a great difference between the paralysis of fear and the wisdom of caution. Faith does not require us to act foolishly or with reckless abandon. Faith does not suspend the natural consequences of our decisions. If you decide to jump from a ten-story building the natural consequence of gravity will cause you to fall. Further, since your body is no match for the abrupt stop when reaching bottom, you will likely do irreparable damage! Fear would cause you to never go to the top of the building; caution causes you not to get too near the edge. Satan’s desire is to keep us from ever going to the top of the building. So many people have lost their joy in life simply because they cannot look beyond the lies of the devil. The truth is that Jesus has conquered Satan, death and hell. Trust in Him!