And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him. (Luke 8:36-39)
Could you imagine seeing such a great miracle – a man possessed with around 6,000 demons being healed – only to turn around and ask the One who healed him to go away? That’s exactly what we read the people of country of the Garasenes did and it was all because of fear.
This word for fear in the Greek, when it says, “they were seized with great fear” is to be alarmed, afraid, and in terror. The sad thing is that instead of pressing in to better understand Jesus and Who He was, recognizing that He had exercised great authority and changed this man’s life, they let their fear rule their decision making and sent God away from them.
Defeated By or Defeating Fear?
Have you ever been so gripped by fear that you end up making decisions based on that emotion. It’s as if you see everything through the lens of fear and it affects every aspect of your life.
Our emotions change with circumstances, but God never changes. Our hearts are deceptive, but God is holy. We’ve not been given a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind.
So how do we defeat fear and prevent being guided by our emotions? When you think of fear, what is the opposite of it? Maybe you think of courage or bravery, but the opposite of fear is not courage or bravery, it’s love. Just as light cast out darkness, perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).
If you abide in God, Who is love, you can walk confident in the One who has said, “Do not be afraid” because He goes with you wherever you go. Don’t let your fear overwhelm you and end up pushing Jesus away, let His love fill you and cast out your fear.
You Can Overcome
When Jesus told the man to return to his home and proclaim what God had done for him, he didn’t argue, he didn’t offer up another idea or suggestion on what he might do, he just did it. Jesus gave him a mission of sharing his testimony. Jesus healed one man, and that one man was able to reach people throughout the whole city!
And you know what? It’s in the very thing that Jesus told him to do – share his testimony – that he overcame his initial desire and fulfilled the will of God. Originally, he wanted to go with Jesus before Jesus gave him a work to do. He could have gotten stuck in being told no or gone away upset, but he overcame – by the word of his testimony.
When your emotions stir, fear grips you, or maybe things don’t go the way you want, you have choices to make. You can let your emotions and desires get the best of you or you can turn to Jesus and do whatever He tells you. Having two options doesn’t mean that choice is always easy to make in the moment, but if you resolve to turn to Jesus, to listen and obey Him no matter what; then when situations arise, you have a plan of action to better help override your emotional response.
I pray you go forth today, casting out fear with God’s perfect love, having been washed by Christ’s blood, and overcoming by the word of your testimony!