Fear

Mark 5:1-17  They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea. The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.

Fear. How it controls you my children. The demon possessed man was so strong he could not be held, not even in heavy chains. People feared him. When I arrived, the demons feared me and begged me not to send them far away. The people of the area, especially the owners of the flocks of pigs that had run into the water and drowned, were afraid of me. So they begged me to leave. Fear. It is the strongest tool of your enemy. It is the most effective way to control you. To tear you apart as a society. To pit you against one another, and ultimately against me. Recognize it. Give it to me. Ask me to relieve you of any fear. Then allow me to do so. And walk on. Upright. In fellowship with one another. Lovingly trying to help all. That is what courage is. Not absence of fear, but walking forward while allowing me to take care of your fear. 

Psalm 37:39-40. The Lord rescues the godly; he is their fortress in times of trouble. The Lord helps them, rescuing them from the wicked. He saves them, and they find shelter in him. (2022)