Matthew 8:31-32
So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.  And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.

What a sight it must have been for those men possessed by the devils to see that herd of swine run violently into the water, like watching the evil and sin and pain and hopelessness drain away.  That was what was in them.  That was what had made them so miserable.  That was what had brought torment and bondage and isolation.  And now all of that was gone in just moments.  What had once seemed like such a powerful and immovable force was overcome with a word from Jesus.

We see the evidence of sin and evil and Satan’s wicked power all around us.  We recognize its influence in ourselves.  But when Jesus comes along and frees us from those chains and that bondage to Satan, we can see it all drain away from us.  That evil was in us.  The potential for all of those horrible things was in us.  Those wicked works were in us.  But now that power has been overcome by something much greater.  Now we are separated from that and joined to Jesus, filled with His Spirit instead to compel us to good works and righteousness.

When Jesus commands it, Satan has to flee.  When He stands beside us, nothing can stand against Him.  When He rescues us from whatever it is that had once consumed us, we are completely free.  And even if our situation seems impossible, He can handle it easily.  There is never anything that can come into our lives that will be too much for Him to handle.  We are never too far gone.  There is always hope and there is always help in Him.

When we’re caught in the grips of our flesh and sin and darkness, when we’re trapped in the agony of the influence of the evil one, all we have to do is cry out to Jesus.  All we have to do is ask Him to save us from whatever it is that holds us captive.  And what an amazing difference He will make.  Then we’ll only be left to stand in awe at the display of His power over all of those things that come against us.  And we’ll be left with the relief that comes when the blood of our Savior washes us clean and makes us whole again.