Sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind

“Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind; and they were afraid” (Luke 8:35).

Before the demon possessed man had an encounter with Jesus that changed his life, the bible describes for us the terrible state that he was in. The gospels records that this man wandered around in the mountains and tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones” (Mark 5:5). Among other things this describes a man with no serenity. In addition, we learn from Luke’s account that he wore no clothes. Under the influence of Satan this man was not only without serenity but he had no shame. From his actions we also know that he did not have any sanity (soundness of mind). No serenity, no shame and no sanity were the terrible consequences of being demon possessed. Now, you don’t have to be demon possessed to be under the influence of Satan and be in a similar state of mind as the demon possessed man. The Apostle Paul wrote that Satan is the God of this World (2 Cor. 4:4). He also instructed Christians not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of the mind (Romans 12:2). When Christians allow themselves to be conformed to this world, which is the same as coming under the influence of Satan, who is the God of this world, the consequences will be similar to what the demon possessed man experienced. I believed that a Christian cannot be demon possessed. Why? The body of every believer is already occupied by the Holy Spirit. But Satan doesn’t have to possess you in order to cause havoc in your life and influence the way you live. How does he do it? He does so not by getting in your body but in your mind. If he can deceive you into thinking his thoughts and believing his lies he’s got you. The absence of serenity, shame and soundness of mind are all connected not with our circumstance, but with how we think (Philippians 4:6-9; 2 Tim. 1:7; Romans 1:21-32). The bible promises peace that surpasses all understanding to the Christian whose mind in captured by God. Does supernatural peace and serenity characterize your life? Are there things in your life that use to bother you but you no longer feel any shame over them? Compared to the world you might feel that your standard of morality and modesty are pretty good. But the problem with comparing yourself to the world’s standards is that the world is going backward a whole lot faster than most Christians are moving forward. A Christian with a sound mind is someone who is able to take the truths, wisdom and principles of the word of God and apply it to their lives. How familiar are you with the word of God? Do you study, memorize and meditate on the scriptures regularly? The demon possess man was found sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. Is there an absence of serenity, shame and soundness of mind in your life? Come out from under the influence of this devil controlled world, sit regularly at the feet of Jesus, allowing his word to renew your mind and transform your life.