A Demon Possessed Man and the Price of Deliverance

 “When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.’ For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert”) Luke: 28, 29. 

This passage tells us the demon possessed man begged Jesus not to torture him after He commanded the spirit to come out. In other words, it seems to convey the idea that having the spirit driven out would cause the man to be tormented.

To read the passage for context, click here.

And this is often the case when we are delivered of our demons. Whether through a formal deliverance or whether we’re resisting the devil on our own (James 4: 7).

Overcoming bondages like smoking, alcoholism, overeating, bad temper, fear, lust, wrong thoughts can be downright tormenting. Especially in the beginning.

Demon Possessed Man Had to Go Through Wilderness of Torment

In order to get to the promise land of freedom from our bondage, we must first go through the wilderness of temptation. And not yielding to this temptation that we’ve been using to meet our needs means we will have unmet needs.

That is, until God meets them for us in His way and time. In my experience, having unmet needs, depending on what they are, can be tormenting. This is why so few Christians overcome their slavery to sin.

The path to freedom is the narrow path of groaning, affliction, trouble and suffering tribulation (Mathew 7: 13, 14). This is the literal meaning of the word narrow according to Strong’s Concordance.

It’s the path of self-restraint, self-control, self-denial and self-discipline.

Resisting temptation and saying no to sin feels like losing our life. We are forced to trust God to meet our needs and take care of us rather than trying to do so ourselves with sin.

Trust Feels Like Jumping Off a Cliff

Trust does not come easily or naturally to us mortals. It feels like jumping off a cliff at first. And if we have a deep-seated need we are trying to meet with our sin, not doing so will be torture.

For this man it certainly would be. The fact that he was so mentally ill shows that his unmet needs that he was allowing the demons to meet was very deep. So, to not allow the demons to meet them would be torment.

I’ve experienced this torment in more than one arena. For all the years I stayed in my loveless marriage from hell, I was tormented by my pathologic unmet need to love and be loved.

Pain was the Catalyst for Growth for the Demon Possessed Man

By resisting the temptation to get divorced and find someone else I was being exorcised of my demons. It provided the catalyst I needed to grow up and mature.

But resisting the temptation to get my needs with sin was pure hell.

I also experienced this torment while trying to overcome my pathologic fear. Going to my job every day that terrified me was the epitome of torment (1 John 4: 18). But there was no other way to be set free of my demon of fear.

To read my story of deliverance from fear see Fiery Trials and God’s Faithfulness.

The truth is our demons will cause a lot more pain than our deliverance from them ever will. As long as we’re being controlled by our demons, we will never have true life.

We Yearn for Freedom

We’ll yearn to be set free of the bondage that control us. We’ll be filled with self-loathing for being too weak to overcome it. And in many cases, it will adversely affect if not destroy our relationships and health.

It’s astounding that the demon possessed man in this passage was afraid of the torture that would result from being delivered. Because he was certainly being tormented by the demons.

They drove him to not wear clothes, or live in a house, but to live in a cemetery. He had to be chained hand and foot because he was so out of control. But they still somehow drove him into the desert.

The reason people become mentally ill is because of deep-seated unmet need that often has its origins in early childhood. To avoid the overwhelming pain or fear or vulnerability of these unmet needs, they use all kinds of coping mechanisms.

They are really just trying to meet those needs with sin independent of God. So, when those coping mechanisms or sin is stripped away, they’re forced to confront the pain and fear.

This can be tormenting. But it’s the only way to get out of a life of misery.