How The Wilderness Experience Exorcises our Demons

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first” Luke 11: 24-26.

I’m sure there’s much about this verse that I don’t understand. But one thing it seems to say is that since demons don’t like dry places, they must not like the wilderness or desert.

To read the chapter for context, click here.

This is interesting because it’s in the wilderness- the place of hunger, unmet needs, only enough to survive, but not satisfy- that we get exorcised of our demons.

Pain Is the Doorway to the Spirit

The pain of hunger and unmet needs makes us strong, wise, healthy and mature. In a word, it fills us with the Spirit of love. And to the degree we are filled with the Spirit, to this degree we are emptied of self. And delivered of our demons.

What did the demons say when they couldn’t find rest? “I will return to my house from which I came”. Isn’t it interesting that this is what the Israelites said too when they couldn’t find rest in the wilderness (Numbers 14).

They wanted to return to Egypt- to the “house from which they came”. They too were seeking rest, which in this context represents the promise land. And when they couldn’t find it they wanted to return.

The Israelites were filled with demons of discontent and bitterness and lust and self- will. And they never entered their rest until they were delivered of these. And the wilderness was just the ticket. But the first generation refused to trust and obey.

So when the Israelites came out of Egypt seeking to enter the promise land, they did the same thing an evil spirit does when it comes out of a person. It passes through waterless places (the wilderness), seeking rest (the promise land).

It’s uncanny that the Israelites said the same thing demons do when they didn’t find rest, “let’s go back. . . “.

But Joshua, Caleb, and the second generation of Israelites born in the wilderness had a different spirit. They didn’t say “let’s go back to Egypt”. But “let’s go forward and conquer our enemies with God’s help”.

Our Demons Will Not Tolerate The Wilderness Experience

Demons will not stay in the wilderness where it’s arid and dry. Our demons will insist that we go back to Egypt, to the place of bondage, but where we’re not in pain because of hunger and unmet needs.

This doesn’t necessarily mean walk away from our faith. But it more often means take a detour from that plan God has called us to to be delivered of some bondage. And experience a new level of freedom.

Maybe He’s speaking to you to overcome your anger, or lose weight or control your spending. But this becomes a wilderness experience. And those demons that controls us when we’re engaging in our sin will have none of it.

They want to go back to bondage.

The Wilderness Experience Sets Us Free

The other option is to allow the wilderness experience to exorcise of us them. If we stay in the wilderness long enough, they will flee. They won’t put up with it.

So when we’re hungry, in pain, have unmet needs, it’s a turning point. Either we’ll allow our demons to bring us back to slavery to sin, or we’ll be set free of them if we refuse to go back.

But one thing is sure. Our demons will not tolerate being hungry, unmet needs or pain. One way or another they will leave. Either by dragging us with them back into old patterns. Or, if we insist on staying where God has us, difficult as it may be, they’ll leave without us.

Verse 26 contains a powerful message about what happen when we allow our demons to drag us back into bondage to addictions, compulsions, lack of self-control. In the wilderness the demons don’t possess us, but they influence us to go back to our old life.

A Sobering Warning

But once we’re back in sin, they will control us. And the bondage will be much worse, and more difficult to get out of than it was before.

Every time we decide to obey God and follow His leading to be delivered of our yoke, whether it be food, or spending too much, or pornography or anger, and we go back because we can’t take the hunger and thirst and unmet needs of the wilderness, it will get harder and harder to get set free.

Because every time our demons leave and come back, they bring more with them. When the Lord is leading us out of our sin, we must “submit to God, resist the devil and He will flee“James 4: 7.

We do this by obeying the Lord’s prompting to stay put in that place where we’re so hungry and thirsty. And our needs (that were being met by the bondage), aren’t being met. And everything within us is screaming “this is too hard and I can’t take it!”

In doing so, our demons will leave. And we will be on our way to that place of rest, which is the promise land. We’re on our way to being to delivered and set free from our bondage permanently!

To read a post related to How The Wilderness Experience Exorcises our Demons: The Link, see Why Agur Couldn’t Handle It.