Tuesday 16 Jun 2020

June 16: Mark 5:9-17

Key Verse: Mark 5:17
Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

Devotion:
What is your first reaction to something you find unbelievable? Do you stop and question how or why? Do you just accept it as unknown and move on? Do you seek advice from others to try and form an consensus? Do you freeze and begin to panic? We all like to think we would be composed and react in a civilised manner, but if we are honest, we would have to face the unknown before we actually knew how we would react. Judging others because they are doing things differently after being forced into a corner they have not known before is dangerous ground!

When Jesus was faced with a legion of spirits who had taken up residence in a poor man His reaction sparked off a variety of ways in which people acted. The legion of spirits knew who Jesus was and they begged Him to not send them away for good. The rest of the people had reacted in many different ways, but the general feeling was probably fear from the unknown and they distanced themselves from the man who had been possessed.

When Jesus was able to get the spirits to leave the man and to go into the herd of pigs nearby, people were amazed and also afraid. The people did not know how to deal with this action they had not seen before and were now facing. Even though some people had been eye witnesses to what had happened and probably accepted what they had seen, the others began to get worried and started to demand Jesus left them alone.

We tend to over-react to things we hear and have not seen before because we have a built-in fear of the unknown. This is probably why there are so many conspiracy theories which plague our communities. God simply wants us to know the truth and to accept the truth. He wants us to know He has power over anything we fear and anyone we come against in our lives. As long as we are willing to ask Him for aid when we need it and listen to that help, we will be able to face the unknown without fear.

Points to Ponder:
Do you ask God to take your fears away from you?

Or do you ask God for help to face your fears?