Close to the Lord means away from the devil!

Luke 4:31-37

31 He went down to Capernaum, a village in Galilee. He was teaching the people on the Sabbath. 32 They were surprised and impressed-- his teaching was so forthright, so confident, so authoritative, not the quibbling and quoting they were used to. 33 In the meeting place that day there was a man demonically disturbed. He screamed, 34 "Ho! What business do you have here with us, Jesus? Nazarene! I know what you're up to. You're the Holy One of God and you've come to destroy us!" 35 Jesus shut him up: "Quiet! Get out of him!" The demonic spirit threw the man down in front of them all and left. The demon didn't hurt him. 36 That set everyone back on their heels, whispering and wondering, "What's going on here? Someone whose words make things happen? Someone who orders demonic spirits to get out and they go?" 37 Jesus was the talk of the town.

Food for thought!

In the meeting place that day there was a man demonically disturbed! This is strange. Someone in the prayer meeting was possessed! Why would a possessed man go to a prayer meeting? And why could the other people stay in tranquility with a demon possessed man? Were they not aware that one of them was under the grip of the devil? Or was it that the possessed man pretended to be ok.

Be it as it may, there are things in us that escape us. There are things that we cannot know on our own; we need the Lord to know ourselves. Only with Jesus can we discover what's hidden in us and among us. Without Jesus we really don't know ourselves, we don't know one another. The gospel says that as soon as Jesus showed up, the devil showed himself and screamed aloud "Ho! What business do you have here with us, Jesus? Nazarene! I know what you're up to. You're the Holy One of God and you've come to destroy us!"

The devil did not and could not stay silent before Jesus. This means that while the devil can manage to stay silent among us, it cannot with Jesus. It means that the best way to fight devils and all evil spirits is by staying close to Jesus. "So place yourselves under God’s authority. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you." (James 4:7).

"Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith." (1 Peter 5:8-9).

"Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." (Ephesians 6:11-12).