Here Comes Trouble!

Hello All

What’s the last scary movie you’ve seen? At this time of year, the things that scare us take center stage and I must admit, I used to be a big…I’m talking BIG fan of horror movies. Something about the creativity of it all really intrigued me. The idea of some scary thing; a house, a car, a ghost, zombies, deranged killer, family pet, or a possessed doll being brought to bear on people’s insecurities. These have all been made into creative presentations that would make you want to leave the lights on at night. If you’ve ever watched a horror movie, you know that the setting is as important as the ‘scary’ thing itself. It’s almost always dark and the misty fog shows up on cue along with the change in music to something obviously unsettling…they’re prepping the stage to scare you out of your wits. Somehow they want you to start anticipating….here comes trouble!

Here’s The Word:

Matthew 8:28-29 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. 29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

Now when it comes to scary movies, your usual ax-wielding creepy clown, or deranged hitchhiker can truly deliver up some terrifying situations, but when it comes to portraying the real horror that indeed exists in the spiritual realm, that’s a whole ‘nother level of unsettling.

On the one hand, this is a sobering demonstration and authenticating realization of Jesus as Eternal God, but on the other hand, somehow, the way this Biblical scene plays out is kind of humorous to me: Here we have the town’s people who are obviously very familiar with these two. I imagine that previously, anytime they had some need to pass this way, the background music would change and things would slow down as their eyes darted and searched for any hint of movement to alert them to the “coming trouble”. And without fail, these two characters would live up to their reputation, instilling bone-rattling fear into anyone who thought themselves brave enough to give it a try. It makes me wonder if on some level, the demons enjoyed watching the people flee in terror.

And then we have Jesus! I wonder if as the demons saw Him, did the music change for them? Did they suddenly begin to focus on His hands to detect any sort of sudden movements? In trying to hide their fear, did they avoid eye contact? From afar off, when these two ‘exceeding fierce’ characters beheld Jesus – I see them looking at each other thinking, “Here comes trouble”. Look at how the tables have turned. Here, we have the ‘monsters’ crying, saying “What do you want with us? Are you going to torture us? I’m not one to “meddle” with the demonic realm but only because of who I am in Christ allows me to enjoy this on the level of Christ is SO AWESOME!

I will never preach that it’s our job to do any kind of battling with devils and demons; This aint that kind of message. If you believe you’re called to that sort of thing, you better be DARN sure! I see in Acts 19:15 where a certain demon knew Paul and seemingly had a respect for him (as opposed to the seven guys he didn’t know and commenced to givin’ them the business.) But it should do our hearts well when Jesus says to take courage in the midst of the troublesome situations we face, because HE has overcome the world…demons and all. We may become shaken and stirred when our problems come, but as we cast our cares on Him: As sure as His unshakable Truth, we should stand firm in the realization that when problems see Jesus - they say “Here comes trouble”.

In Him,
Cros