Be aware. Enemies are encamped all about you.
Mark 5:1 – And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
____________________
Have you ever deliberately taken the steps necessary to go into the camp of a known enemy? If you’ve served in the military, especially in a hostile situation, you very well may have done so. Though I did not serve in the military, I do know what it is like to deliberately go into the camp of potential hostiles. That story is for another time, but I can assure you, I’ve been there, and I am aware of the kinds of emotions that can be stirred. A study of the Scripture will reveal that such could be considered commonplace for God’s warriors.
Samson, on more than one occasion, was found in the middle of the enemy’s camp. King David often face such an experience. Many of the prophets of God, Elijah, Elisha, and Daniel among them, face such experiences. The good news of which we should always be aware is that if the Lord has sent you there, or if it is the enemy who has chosen to try to overtake or capture you, you will never be alone. The Lord and His angels will always be with you, encamped around about you.
In the story related, beginning with our Text for Today, we see Jesus doing the very thing about which I am writing. Jesus had been among His Own people, teaching them. At the close of His teaching among His Own people, He departed, sleeping in the back of a ship for Gadara. But why would I refer to that place as “the enemy’s camp?” His first encounter was with a demoniac (of whom we shall write later) who came down to the shore to attack, and possibly kill Jesus, for the demons in the man knew Who Jesus was. Secondly, it is obvious from the story that people in Gadara raised pigs; apparently large numbers of them in herds, and we know that pig meat (pork) is unclean to the Jews. And when a large hard of swine were killed by drowning themselves, all that after Jesus had delivered the demoniac, they chased Jesus out of the land. Apparently, He had wrecked a great portion of their economy.
There is something of extreme value here for every believer to learn and put into practice. If God sends you into the enemy’s camp, you are prepared to leave victorious, kept safely by the Lord and His angels. When the Lord sends you to an enemy’s camp, you need not fear. Whatever camp you enter, enter by faith, for this is the victory that overcomes the world, even your faith. There are enemy camps all around us. Don’t go into them unless the Lord sends you. If He does, go confidently, trusting Him fully.
Manna for Today – Mark 5:1-21; Mark 16:15-21; Psalm 91; Isaiah 54:17; John 14:12-14; John 15:7
My Second Miler by Dr. Beechard Moorefield 