Mark 5:2-3 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain.
Emotional and mental bondages keep a person trapped in unresolved agony. Wrong thought patterns and internalized false beliefs over a period of time builds like a brick wall and entraps the person. Such bondages would affect their self-worth, relationships and overall lifestyle. A person could be imprisoned in unresolved trauma, abuse, negative self-belief and deep rooted pessimism, fear, anxiety, guilt or shame. An emotional bondage becomes a mental bondage when the person can no longer function normally. As long as it is an emotional bondage, they will just be unpleasant pessimistic people but when it becomes mental they will become brash, abusive or even violent. There are various medical terminologies given to these mental illnesses such as Depression, Anxiety Disorders, Bipolar, Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD), Schizophrenia, Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders (such as hoarding), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Eating Disorders such as Anorexia or Binge-Eating disorders, Suicidal Instinctive disorder, and the list goes on.
If the demon possessed man was assessed in this day and age, he would have been diagnosed with all of the above! The man was violent and uncontrollable. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him (vs 4). He had a demon problem not a medical problem. Jesus came to set us free from demonic strongholds and bondages. The demonic stronghold was stronger than iron fetters in his hands and feet. See the man came running to Jesus, he did run away, but the demon in him resisted Jesus. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. (vs 6). Jesus set him free.
Freedom from bondages and strongholds:
1. Prayer: The man who was bound cried out day and night. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones (vs 5). Prayer is the permanent solution for any bondage – emotional or physical. Simple prayer “Jesus Help” is all that we need to pray.
2. Presence: The presence of Jesus breaks the bondages that medical therapy and treatment cannot change. Medically, mental illnesses cannot be cured, they can only be managed. However, spiritual bondages will wither away like flakes in God’s mighty presence.
3. Prognosis: The prognosis of the physicians would have been that this man would die of mental illness. However, when they saw that their diagnosis was nullified, they became indifferent. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region (vs 17).
There is emotional and mental freedom from strongholds and bondages in the blood and the name of Jesus.
Mark 5:14 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
Prayer: Dearest Lord Jesus, break every stronghold, addictive habit, mental or emotional trauma that is incarcerating your children. Amen.
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