“They began screaming at Him, ‘Why are you interfering with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before God’s appointed time?’” (Matthew 8:29 NLT)
Do you believe God interferes with your life? Do you believe the pain or torment you experience is His fault? The Greek word translated “interfering” in the verse above means “torment, pain, toss, vex, toil” and describes how the ancients “tested metals by the touchstone, which is a black silicious stone used to test the purity of gold and silver by the color of the streak produced on it by rubbing it with either metal.” (Strong’s) The word can also mean “to question by applying torture; to vex with grievous pains (of body or mind), to torment.”
The question in the verse above was asked by demons from within a man they controlled. Think about that for a second. What do demons do? They torment, vex, cause pain, destroy people’s lives. Does it seem odd to you that demons, who have no choice but to submit to the authority of the Savior, immediately assumed Jesus would do to them what they’d been doing to the man they possessed? And just so we’re clear, they were headed to an eternity of torment and pain, but that wasn’t Jesus’ reason for “interfering” in the demon’s lives in this specific instance.
How like us when we’re in pain, heartache, torment of mind, body, or soul, to immediately assume God is the cause. And don’t lose sight of the fact that while the demon possessed man ran to meet Jesus, the sole reason for Jesus being in that place at that time was to heal that man. He was the initiator of the man’s healing, not the man himself.
That’s true for us as well. Jesus is always the Initiator, not us. We may go about our lives as if He didn’t exist. For all intent and purpose, we’re “practical atheists” until something happens to get our attention and turn us back to God. It’s as if, even as professing believers, we assume God has caused this problem to get our attention, so we turn to Him with an attitude that essentially says: “Okay, You have my attention. What do you want from Me? Just fix this so I can go on with my life the way I want to live it.”
We may not use those words, but for all practical purposes, that’s too often our attitude. Yet, think of why Jesus was in the presence of the demons in the first place. He wasn’t there to criticize, condemn (even the demons), or correct bad behavior, He was there to heal, restore, deliver, bring life and health in measures that man had never known in all his life.
Jesus wasn’t “interfering” in the man’s life, He was rescuing him in ways that man was helpless to save himself. Like a drowning person clings to their rescuer, that man was holding on to Jesus as his last resort. If Jesus failed, there was no plan “B.” Do you not yet understand Jesus is your only hope? He alone can do for you what you can never in eternity ever do for yourself.
What is the “demon” in your life that’s holding you back? What habit, hangup, or hurt has you so entangled in your own issues you’re too blind to see who Jesus is and what only He can do for you? And the irony is, He’s standing right in front of you. You don’t need to find your way to Him, He’s already made His way to you. He’s always and only a prayer away.
God’s Word makes it clear that God is not the initiator or cause of your difficulties (see Romans 8:28), but He is definitely the solution. He can do what only He can do, but you must do what only you can do. Like the man who was controlled by demons, you must submit whatever’s keeping you from giving your life to Jesus and let Him free you to be all He died to enable you to become.
Please let Him deliver you from your torment. Click on this link to see how you can finally be free. Ron Hutchcraft’s Bridge Illustration.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 