Mark 5:1-20

Alone. Every time he came to himself, he was alone. There were signs of intervention, like the broken chains that dangled from his wrist shackles. He thought to himself, “maybe if I just end it all, this inner storm will cease.” But as brief as the episodes of sanity were, he never could muster the strength to fulfill the action of what seemed like freedom. He never knew the possibility of true freedom, only the one that a desperate mind had created in moments of dark hopelessness.
While the night wore on, the dark storm clouds continued to role across the sea towards Gadara. Soon the familiar flashing and crackling of the lightning broke around him, and he assumed his perch to watch the sea for desperate fishing vessels. He felt a sense of companionship with those he could see stranded in the middle of storms on that deadly sea. Tonight, the storm was especially hot, and in the midst of the storm, a bright flash of lightning shone a small fleet of ships. He watched as they maneuvered against the wind and over the waves, but eventually the crews showed signs of exhaustion as the massive waves battered their boats. All was hopeless. The drowning vessels were done. The storm was too strong for them.
Then, on the forward boat, something strange happened. A man climbed to the bow of the boat and stared down the storm. In the raging wind-driven rain, he yelled.
It all stopped. Everything. The wind that was sweeping over the rocky crags, the rain, the lightning, in that one instant, everything hushed. The night was eerily silent. The man stepped back from the bow and spoke with those on his boat who were obviously overwhelmed and began muttering with one another.
The maniac watched in disbelief. Something special had just happened, and he had witnessed it. As the boat came ashore the darkness of his next demonic episode swirled into his mind, and his amazement melted as Satanic forces recaptured his consciousness. The demons knew who this was. As Jesus approached the maniac, the grotesque figure shrieked at Jesus, “LEAVE US ALONE!” Jesus was not commanded by demons, but rather, demons obeyed His voice. “Get out of HIM!” was the Master’s firm reply.
In an instant, the man was freed as the demons fled in horror. The same One Who calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee, had calmed the storm that raged in this man’s life. The frustration and aloneness were met with permanent sanity. The separation that had been the definition of his life was replaced by reunion and restoration. He had met the Master, and everything had changed. There would be no more “alone.” Jesus had come and had changed that forever. No storm and no army of demons could stand against God in the flesh.

Food For Thought: Reread verse 14-20. What was the visual indication to those around the man at the time that Jesus truly had cured the man of his demon possession?