Liberated by Jesus
[He] began to tell . . . how much Jesus had done for him.
Mark 5:20
“I lived with my mother so long that she moved out!” Those were the words of KC, whose life before sobriety and surrender to Jesus was not pretty. He candidly admits supporting his drug habit by stealing—even from loved ones. That life is behind him now and he rehearses this by noting the years, months, and days he’s been clean. When KC and I regularly sit down to study God’s Word together, l’m looking at a changed man.
Mark 5:15 speaks of a former demon-possessed individual who had also been changed. Prior to his healing, helpless, hopeless, homeless, and desperate are words that fit the man (vv. 3-5). But all of that changed after Jesus liberated him (v. 13). But, as with KC, his life before Jesus was far from normal. His internal turmoil that he expressed externally is not unlike what people experience today. Some hurting people dwell in abandoned buildings, vehicles, or other places; some live in their own homes but are emotionally alone. Invisible chains shackle hearts and minds to the point that they distance themselves from others.
In Jesus, we have the One who can be trusted with our pain and the shame of the past and present. And, as with Legion and KC, He waits with open arms of mercy for all who run to Him today (v. 19).
By Arthur Jackson
REFLECT & PRAY
God, I’m so grateful that, through Jesus, things that controlled me in the past can indeed remain in the past.
How has Jesus changed you? Who do you know that needs to hear about it?
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Demons believe in God, but their belief isn’t saving faith (James 2:19). They know Jesus is the “Son of the Most High God” who has authority over them (Mark 5:7; also 1:24) and that He’ll send them to the abyss (Matthew 25:41; Luke 8:31). Jews believe the abyss or “the place of the dead” (Romans 10:7 nlt) is the underworld prison of evil spirits or fallen angels, a place of torture and torment (Matthew 8:29; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6). K. T. Sim
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