One of my favorite stories in the Bible is when Jesus heals the demon possessed man at the Gerasenes. This man is legitimately crazy. He lives in a graveyard (naked) and is so insanely strong that chains can’t hold him. I picture him with crazy hair and covered in filth. You could probably smell him before you actually see him. All of the neighboring towns knew about him and probably circulated wild stories about him. He must have been the local “Boogeyman”.
Jesus heals the man, and when the nearby farmers see him sitting there, dressed, and in his right mind, they go running to spread the news. The entire town comes out to see if it’s really true, and when they see it for themselves, they beg Jesus to leave (Mark 5). They beg Jesus to leave- it seems so counter intuitive. If Jesus could heal this crazy man, what other miraculous things could He do? I would think that they would BEG Jesus to stay, bring Him their sick, pop some popcorn, sit back and watch the miracles. Why would you beg him to leave?!
Recently, I found myself in the middle of a situation where I didn’t know what to do. I prayed very earnestly for a sign, and when I got my sign, it was not the sign that I wanted. I fully expected God to answer my prayer in a completely different manner. I wanted a different answer than the one that I was given. So, I got mad at God. (Very mature, I know.)
What do you do when you don’t like the answer God gives you? Do you ask Him to kindly escort himself out of your situation? I almost did.
But this story so beautifully illustrates that complete power of Jesus. This man is healed, from the inside out, from top to bottom. Every fiber of him is changed. Imagine the power of that testimony to everyone that knew him!
God’s answer for me may not have been the one that I wanted, but I know that if I can just submit to what He wants to do in my life, it will be incredible. If I can trust him to lead me, I can’t go wrong. It all comes down to trust.
What do you do when you don’t like the answer God gives you? You trust. It’s not easy. It forces you to exercise your faith muscles. We have such a limited view of what God is doing behind the scenes. We have to trust that He knows all the moving parts and is moving them the way that He purposes. It’s hard to walk the path that you can’t see, but trust will lead you step by step.
~Shiney
