I work with a man whose daughter recently died of cancer. While she was alive, many people were praying for her healing including me. After her passing, people changed their prayers and started asking for God’s peace and comfort to cover the family, but I kept wrestling over this little one. During my prayers, I kept pressing God to show off His power and the authority of Jesus’ name to the point of asking God to find a way to resurrect her body. Nothing happened. So in the middle of my foggy search for answers, God directed me to the brokenhearted father that was left behind, and let me know that this daughter’s First Father had taken her home, and she was just fine resting in His arms.
While I was struggling with how to bring this man some comfort, the Spirit directed me to Luke 8 in the Bible and the story of the Gerasene demoniac. Here Jesus runs into a man who has Legion, an army of demons, inside of him, and Jesus casts the demons out of the man. But the Spirit had me look at a few particular pieces of the story by asking me questions. As I read Luke 8:28 which says, “Seeing Jesus, he (i.e. the demoniac) cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.” So the question the Spirit asked me was, “why did the man fall on his knees before Jesus?” and immediately, I remembered these words, “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father {Philippians 2:10-11}.” Legion, who was on the inside of the man, had to give God the Father glory, and so he had to bow before Jesus and call Jesus “Son of the Most High God” to show the Lordship of Jesus. Jesus had the authority to do whatever he wanted to Legion, and Legion knew it.
As I kept reading, I came to Luke 8:31 and read, “They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss”, and these words came flooding into my mind, “and to the angel was given the key of the shaft of the Abyss [the bottomless pit] {Revelation 9:1}.” So the Spirit asked me, “why did Legion fear the abyss?” The answer was in Legion’s confession before Jesus, “… I beg You, do not torment me.” The abyss is a prison for demons and a place of torment. Legion feared the abyss and each demon was dreading the day they would enter into it. This story was getting good now and I couldn’t wait to see the authority and power of Jesus demonstrated!
The story continues, “Now there was a herd of many swine (i.e. pigs) feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission. And the demons came out of the man and entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.” What? A herd of pigs! Wait a minute. But before I could go on, the Spirit asked me His last question, “so why did Jesus cast Legion into the pigs instead of the abyss?” In the parallel version of this story in Mark 5, I read this in verse 5, “… Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones.” The man was cutting himself with stones! And screaming all night and day! Mark recorded it because the people around there heard him, but did nothing. He was being tormented by Legion. Later, when the man was freed and wanted to be with Jesus, Jesus told him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you. {Mark 5:19}.” There it was – mercy. Jesus cast out Legion into the pigs instead of the abyss because of His compassion for the man.
This man had been through years of internal torture and torment, and this day was the day of his freedom. Jesus knew Legion’s destiny and that it will be the abyss, but on this day, Jesus wasn’t focused on Legion and the need to reveal the power of His authority, but rather He was focused on the man and his need to see the demonstration of the power of Christ’s compassion. On this day – this day of destiny, Jesus Christ changed forever the destiny of a once broken man and set him on the path to his real home, and frankly, it didn’t matter how many herds of pigs Legion was cast into, Jesus knew that Legion’s destiny was set too and it is the abyss. There is no changing that – ever.
So for now my wrestling is over, and I have a direction of what I am to do. My prayers have changed. Now I am asking that I get out of the way, and let the compassion of a King come and show my co-worker comfort that only Jesus can bring. I ask that my eyes and heart be made ready to witness the power of this compassion of Jesus Christ directed to the place where my friend is hurting. I cannot stand by and do nothing, so I quietly and prayerfully wait for the day of his freedom. “…confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father…” “…report to them what great things the Lord has done for you…” When it comes, this day of freedom will be a day of great glory to God the Father.
