Finally he could see.
Finally he could hear.
Finally he knew peace.
Finally he could rest.
Finally he was clothed.
Finally he was healed.
Finally he was… free.

In re-reading a familiar passage from Mark 5 the Bible recounts the story of the demon possessed man. A man afflicted, shackled, stuck and tormented. He was running, wandering, self destructing, hidden from the world around him, lonely, lost and desperate.  He wasn’t named in the story but was known as ‘the man from the tombs’ a man who was banished, cast off, removed and rejected.

But then…He saw Jesus.

The verse says, he caught sight of Jesus when he was a long way off.

Can you imagine?  In the middle of utter and complete darkness catching a glimpse of light…still a long way off – but in view.

Have you been here? Afflicted and tormented? Hopeless? Alone? Cast off? Hidden in whatever tomb you have created to keep you from light.

Maybe your situation doesn’t look exactly like that of a demon possessed man?  Maybe you aren’t cutting your skin, screaming, ranting outwardly, but perhaps you are inwardly.

Perhaps there is a place inside the walls of your heart that has you shackled and hidden from light.

I remember this place in my own life so very well.  I was in my early 20’s and was experiencing a great deal of shame and torment from a series of events that had taken place over a 7 year period.

The pain and torment in my mind would resemble a prisoner who had been handed freedom but didn’t know how to live freely. I had been imprisoned for so long that I didn’t know how to live, breathe, see, hope, or heal. I felt utterly alone, empty, in need of rescuing but the events in my mind kept me from seeking light so I withdrew. I went inwardly to a dark place within the walls of my heart.

Many people live like this. Dealing with depression, anxiety, hopelessness, illness, broken relationships, and hidden sin.

The list could go on, for the man in the story it was a spirit that had afflicted his mind and derailed his life in a way that kept him from being a productive member of society. So much that he was cast off and rejected. So much that the power given to the spirit that had taken over his mind kept him hidden, naked, afraid, floundering in a sea of insanity and hopelessness.

But then he saw Jesus.

He caught a glimpse of Jesus from his place of want, need, brokenness, frailty and he ran to His feet.

“He fell on his knees in front of Him” Mark 5:6

The man who for years had aimlessly wandered in a depraved state poignantly directed his entire being toward light, toward hope, toward ‘the way’ and prostrated his whole self at His feet.

I remember this moment in my own life. I remember laying on my bed completely overwhelmed with my lack, completely exhausted from my memories. Completely surrendered I fell apart, came undone and said “I need you, put me back together.”

Nothing was held back. My knuckles were no longer dug into trying to change the past, fix myself, control my future….I was done hiding, I was finished pretending to be okay. I was ready to stop viewing the Lord from a distance. I emptied all that I was so that He could fill me with all that He is.

This is where the story changes.

When He fell at the feet of Jesus with his entire being he was in the perfect posture to be completely healed. He held nothing back. He wasn’t slightly bowed down. He was fully bowed.

It is in the place of being fully surrendered and fully trusting that the Lord does His most beautiful work.

In this place Jesus cast out everything that was hindering him from living a fully free life.

In this place Jesus cleansed him.

In this place Jesus met him.

In this place Jesus filled him.

In this place Jesus healed him.

And the most beautiful picture – immediately after Jesus had done this work he was…

“sitting there, dressed and in his right mind” Mark 5:15

Do you see that?

Sitting. This may seem insignificant – but it is completely counter to his old nature.  When he was afflicted he was wandering aimlessly, he couldn’t sit, he couldn’t be still, he was searching, moving, running. When he met Jesus he was healed from his need to run, he could sit without torment, he could bow content with what was in front of Him – Jesus.

One of the things that many people, myself included, struggle with is the ability to be still but not just in the sense of a lack of movement outwardly but from a lack of movement inwardly. Tormented souls can’t inwardly be at rest until they meet and behold the face of Jesus. When you truly meet Jesus, experience Him, know Him, surrender and lay prostrate all of your being at your feet then you can sit, you can be still, you can know peace, you can finally rest.

Dressed. Prior to his healing he was naked, afraid, exposed.  Jesus clothes us…he clothes us in His righteousness, he drapes his linens of healing around our weary naked souls and covers all of our wounds.

In his right mind.  He was whole.

I don’t know about you but this – this is the picture of what takes place when we come to the feet of Jesus. We are offered a place to sit by Him, clothed and whole. We no longer have need to run wildly after or away from the woes of this world or our earthly tent for He drapes himself around our entire being and offers us complete healing.

Come to His feet.

Lay down.

Rest.

Allow Him to offer you a place to sit in peace, clothed…whole.