Your enemy, the devil, knows two things better than you … he knows God’s power and your potential. He has no doubt about who God is and what God can do. He is also fully aware of what God can do with a life like yours when it is fully surrendered and lived in wild faith. Honey, that’s why there’s a target on you. When you partner with God, every single thing that has ever held you back will be dropped and the enemy will no longer have your company in the dark corners where you’ve hidden before.

God is saying, “Satan, you can’t have my girl! She’s mine and I’m coming to get her! Your chains have no place on her. Your lies are being replaced with my truth. My light is coming to expose you in the darkness. My girl will be restored!”

Jesus is a restorer. He is a redeemer. He holds the power to break every chain, overcome every demonic power, and have you walking out of the bondage you’ve been held in … and he has the power to do it today! That’s what he’s here to do.

Yeah, you’ve had a target on your back and the enemy has been chasing you. But you also have a target on your heart for which Jesus is in relentless pursuit. He’s not going to sneak up behind you like the devil does, no, he’s coming straight in for the capture of your heart to change things you’ve never been able to change before. Go ahead and let Jesus capture your heart. Let him do his work in you!

When Jesus comes in, the devil and all his demons must flee.

Luke 8 tells the story of Jesus healing a demon-posessed man. First, let’s address this: Are demons real? Absolutely they are. They are the fallen angels who chose to follow the angel Lucifier, who we now call Satan, when he rebelled against God. Demons are just as real as angels. They are on a mission to complete the enemy’s work which is to kill, steal and destroy. Scripture says they accuse us before God day and night. Yes, they are continually trying to convince God that you’re too far gone, you’re worthless, and you’re a waste of his divine power. If you ever feel like someone is talking bad about you, well, you’re right! Actually, it’s happening day and night! But God knows the truth about you! He knows your potential because he put it there. He knows your future because he planned it.

So, yes, demons are real. They roam this earth trying to steal one more from the life they were created for. They work in disaster, they work in dysfunction, they work in distraction, they work in disappointment, they work in depression, they work in absolutely any darkness we allow in our lives. However, the devil and all his demons must flee at the name of Jesus.

Girl, get to speaking Jesus. Speak it as loud as you need to and as many times as you need to. Speak the holy name of Jesus over your heart and your mind. Speak Jesus until every dark addiction starts to break. Speak Jesus over fear and anxiety. Speak Jesus over every soul held captive by depression. Yes, speak the name of healing and the name of life, Jesus! Speak Jesus for your family … I’m speaking Jesus for mine. There’s a song I often play on repeat called “I Speak Jesus” by Charity Gayle. The demons flee with that one!

So, let’s read the story of Jesus healing the demon-posessed man. Luke 8: 27-38:

As Jesus was climbing out of the boat, a man who was possessed by demons came out to meet him. For a long time he had been homeless and naked, living in the tombs outside the town. As soon as he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down in front of him. Then he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please, I beg you, don’t torture me!” For Jesus had already commanded the evil spirit to come out of him. This spirit had often taken control of the man. Even when he was placed under guard and put in chains and shackles, he simply broke them and rushed out into the wilderness, completely under the demon’s power.

Jesus demanded, “What is your name?”

“Legion,” he replied, for he was filled with many demons. The demons kept begging Jesus not to send them into the bottomless pit.

There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby, and the demons begged him to let them enter into the pigs. So Jesus gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned.

When the herdsmen saw it, they fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been freed from the demons. He was sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid. Then those who had seen what happened told the others how the demon-possessed man had been healed. And all the people in the region begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for a great wave of fear swept over them.

So Jesus returned to the boat and left, crossing back to the other side of the lake.

The demons didn’t have to be told this was Jesus. They didn’t have to be convinced this was God in the flesh. Everyone else was looking for miraculous proof that he was who he said he was. Everyone else had doubts and questions. But the demons knew. They had seen him at the throne. They were familiar with his power. The demons had absolutely no doubt that Jesus held the power to evict them from where they had been dwelling and strip them of all their power.

Do you know that? Do you know about Jesus’ power? Do you know he is real? Do you know with absolute certainty he is the son of God? The enemy of your soul sure knows it!

These demons knew they could not resist the will of Jesus. If Jesus wanted to send them to the bottomless pits of hell, he had that power. With Jesus on the scene, whatever his will was, they could not go against it. (There’s a powerful note to make … if you’re up against the powers of Hell and Satan’s sneaky demons have been meddling in your life, call Jesus on the scene. Yes, girl, speak the holy name of Jesus. With Jesus on the scene, his will cannot be denied.)

But, as humans, we have been given an ability the demons do not have. We have been given the ability to refuse God’s will. He has good plans for our lives, but we don’t have to follow them. He has freedom aligned for us, but we have the free will to refuse it and remain in bondage. Jesus says in John 7:17, “Anyone who CHOOSES to do the will of God.” Yes, we have a choice. We are not forced to follow God’s will. If God wanted robots to follow him, he would have taken our will. But he wanted surrendered hearts that seek him in faith, so he gave us a power the demons do not have … the power to resist his will.

God has graciously taken me on a journey over the past few years showing me that my way and my plan is never better than God’s plan and God’s way. I’m still trying to understand his timing because quite honestly, I like my timeline better than his typically. That’s still a work in progress for me. I’m finally at a place in life where I can say, “God, if you’re in it, I want it. God, if you’re not, I DON’T!” My will is finally aligning with his on this journey. How about yours?

Jesus sends the demons into a nearby herd of pigs and they plunge off a cliff into the lake to die. This herd was 2,000 pigs. Those pigs were someone’s business. They were someone’s livelihood. Someone’s life investment. Someone’s future. And now they were gone. When the people of the region heard Jesus had caused this, they begged him to go away and leave them alone.

And really, you can’t blame them. If Jesus stayed, what else would they lose? They saw one man’s freedom and healing cost 2,000 pigs and that was a price they weren’t willing to pay.

Honestly, there was a time in my life when I wouldn’t fully surrender to Jesus because I was afraid of the cost. I was afraid of what he might take away from me. I liked my life. I liked my freedom. I liked my fun. I had no desire to live a buttoned down, boring life, so I stiff armed Jesus and kept him at a distance. What I didn’t know then is I was missing out on the adventure of a lifetime. Yes, Jesus’ presence in my life has caused me to change many things and led me to give up other things and I would take absolutely NONE of it back.

God really does know what he’s doing. I’m not miserable and I’m certainly not bored. Life is better, bigger, sweeter and more exciting with Jesus than it could have ever been without him.

Have you been pushing Jesus away because you’re afraid of the cost? That’s normal. I’m pretty sure Jesus gets that a lot. Verse 37 says Jesus returned to the boat and left.

Woah … what else could he have done there? Who else could he have set free? Who else could he have called to a life with him? Who else could he have miraculously healed? What family could he have changed in an instant? But, he didn’t because he was was asked to leave.

Maybe you’ve resisted Jesus before … it’s time to ask him to come back again. It’s time to surrender everything to him so he can do what only he can do. Will it cost you something? Yes. Will it be worth it? Absolutely!

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