Devotional: Applying the Bible to my today.
Read: Matthew 8:28-34
Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell a story in which Jesus was approached by a demon possessed man. This man was frightful, and the townspeople could not contain him with chains of any sorts. He was loud and destructive. Jesus commanded the demons to leave the man’s body and enter into some nearby pigs – possibly thousands. When the demons entered the pigs, they ran off a steep embankment and into the sea where they perished.
Seems probable that the people would have been happy to not have to deal with this demon possessed man any longer (Matthew’s text stated that nobody could pass by him any longer) or that they would have at least been caring enough to be happy for this man to be freed. Though the freed man himself was extremely grateful, the townspeople actually implored Jesus to leave. The text does mention that they were frightened, but it is believed that they asked him to leave because they were not happy about the financial loss of the pigs.
do I get upset about the inconvenience it presents to me?
Inconveniences may involve time, money, preferences, image (the way others view us), friendships/relationships, comfort, control, employment, life or death, and many others. Some of the inconvenience truly is minor, others are life changing and deeply significant. I’m assuming the loss of 2,000 pigs was a significant financial loss to that community.
Sometimes I do get frustrated at the inconveniences. Sometimes I will disobey God’s request for my inconvenience, and sometimes I will obey but only while throwing a mental temper tantrum, and there are times when I will move forward in faith that He knows what He’s doing.
The times in which I’ve chosen to obey, it has almost always turned into significant blessings for me in return. For example, I had accepted a significant promotion in another city, when, without a doubt God called us to stay right where we were (how God got our attention is a pretty fun and amazing story!) – to me it seemed the call was to stay and continue serving at Celebrate Recovery at Highland Park Christian Church. It’s hard to explain to an employer a change of mind and not burn a ton of bridges. It’s hard to pass up a promotion and all the financial benefits that it entails.
But, because we chose to stay, we have gotten to witness countless changed lives through Celebrate Recovery – and I don’t just mean that people feel “better” – I mean complete and total transformations like my one beautiful friend who went from being a homeless, meth addict to loving the Lord/ finding an amazing husband/ serving at CR and in prisons all within two years. Not that anything can top that experience, but two years after turning down the promotion, I received the same promotion, same financial incentive without leaving Tulsa.
I am reminded that just because God asks me to sacrifice and give something for the sake of someone else – it doesn’t mean that He has lost His love and care for me or that He is putting them before me. He knows the big picture – I do not. My blessings will come if I will just obey, which means I must trust Him.
- When you know the right thing to do, but it’s not what you really want to do, what is your typical response? Do it – no questions asked, do it – while throwing a temper tantrum, or run from it?
- Are there some inconveniences that you are running from today? What needs to be your next step?
- How can I pray for you today?
The artwork below is comic strip from my son Reese portraying the story of the demons being cast into the pigs. Enjoy!
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| First Block: Jesus says, “Can I pass?” Demons say, “No!” Second Block: The demons, as shown in the guys intestines 🙂 say, “If you are actually God, then get us out!” |
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| First Block: “I will put you in those pigs,” declares Jesus. “What?!” Second and Third Block: Pigs are out of here. |