Mark 5:5-7
And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.

All kinds of people with all kinds of struggles need the touch of Jesus. We can’t imagine the depths of struggle that some people deal with in their lives, whether self-inflicted or brought on by something out of their control. There are diseases and addictions. There are sins and their consequences. There is abuse, injury, poor choices, accidents. A smiling face may cover a multitude of pain inside. An angry countenance may hide untold hurts.

There was no hiding that there was something wrong with this man that Jesus encounters in the tombs. Others had tried to contain him, but they were only dealing with the symptoms and not the root of his struggle. They tried to bind him, perhaps to keep him from hurting others or himself, but they could not free him from the legion that controlled him. Jesus was the cure he needed, and what a difference He made in this man’s life.

The difference that Jesus can make in a person’s life is so stark and so noticeable that the people were afraid when they saw this man sitting in his right mind with Jesus. But the truth is, Jesus can deliver us from anything that ails us. No, not all of our struggles are caused by a demon, but there is a root somewhere deep inside of us that manifests in our lives in various ways. The main problem for all of us is sin, and Jesus has taken care of that through His death on the cross. When we accept the gentle healing of our Savior, we can notice a big difference in our lives.

In the course of our lives, we may encounter people who do things that seem incomprehensible to us. But instead of treating them with contempt, we can treat them with compassion and kindness. We can share the glorious truth of the transforming power that Jesus Christ can have on a life. Perhaps we have our own struggles that we can share with others and tell them how much Jesus was able to change us. Perhaps we can share examples from Scripture to show others what Jesus has done and can still do in people’s lives.

Not everyone’s struggles are so obvious as this man’s were. Some people bear heavy loads without anyone ever knowing. Let’s be mindful that we don’t always know what people are going through and avoid judging or condemning. Let’s be understanding of people who deal with difficult things we may not have ever had to face. We have to realize that everyone’s circumstances are different and everyone handles things differently. Let’s not be stingy in giving grace to others when God has been so merciful to us, but instead give Him the freedom to work in our lives and those around us.