Why do we wiggle?
The manifestations of a demon-possessed person can be most unsettling: intense strength, growls and glares, cursing, flailing about, frothing like a rabid animal and convulsing. All the while a frightful spiritual darkness presses down upon the scene. Enough to rattle the nerves and shake the faith of many.
But the Truth is, the demons fear you, the believer in our Lord Jesus Christ. Even the weakest of us is, to the devil and his host, like a toddler with a loaded pistol. The devil knows what we hold in our hands. Drop the Name of Jesus and the demons must flee:
“…do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20).
“Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:7b-8).
“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” (James 2:19).
“God… gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth… to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:9-11).
Mark writes of one such individual brought by his father to Jesus. The fearful challenge had proved too much for the apostles; “I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out,” the man recounted to Jesus, “but they could not.” (Mark 9:18). “Since childhood,”‘ the man continued, “whenever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid,” the man explained, ”…and often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him.”
Sure enough, as soon as the demon-possessed son saw Jesus scripture records, “…immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.”
But Jesus wasn’t wiggling. He knew who had the upper hand here. Despite the loud display of demonic madness before Him, Jesus calmly says, “…all things are possible to him who believes.” Oh, how we want to believe when circumstances shout otherwise! We do… but we don’t.
Let’s be wise like this father… How? By being honest. “Lord, I believe,” he cried, “help my unbelief!”
That son was delivered that day. — Even though the father’s faith wobbled at best, he had at least a grain… and that grain was enough. As Jesus elsewhere said, “if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matt. 17:20).
Now I’m not saying we should all go out and seek to fight demons or move mountains around, but… well… Remember that brook trout? [See Tuesday’s blog] When situations looked tense brother Jim, Don’s dad, would often say “God’s not wiggling.” Whether it’s surrendering to some personal change or stepping boldly forward to a new level of faith and confidence in God — neither should we.
Press on…
Got a question? Use the Contact page and send It to me. We’ll search the Word for God’s answer.
thebrokenrunner 