THE FACIAL EXPRESSION of the slim quiet looking young man in his early twenties took on a sinister look.
The white in his eyes turned red like newly lit fire and whatever was inside of him looked out at me with hostile intentions. His jaws became elongated and a deep baritone voice bellowed: “My name is legion and I am not coming out.”
To say that I was scared is a great understatement. I was petrified. The saliva in my mouth dried up almost immediately. My heart went into racing mode and within seconds a million thoughts flashed across my mind. I had never seen any person exhibit such behaviour in all of my then ten years within the sacred ministry.
When I started to pray for this youngster who was about 120 pounds, he displayed the strength of about one hundred men. I was certainly not prepared then for that sudden dramatic introduction into the world of spiritual problems which are caused by evil spirits and manifest themselves within the lives of human beings.
As mentioned last week, even the social scientists have seen from empirical and authentic research that the spiritual area of mankind is as real as the physical, social, mental and emotional regions. Since that is so, the concerns that may arise in the spiritual realm of your personality can only be corrected by spiritual means.
If you are involved in an accident and suffered several serious wounds to your physical body, there are medical doctors who are trained to use the required tools to deal with such wounds. You would not need a psychologist or a psychiatrist who is trained in behavioral or mental health issues to deal with those physical gashes. Also, if there are relationships or family related problems, the chances of your calling a dentist or gynaecologist to resolve that kind of problem are very slim.
Seeking the assistance of a sociologist or family counsellor who is trained in such matters to deal with those social issues may seem to make more sense. Similarly, spiritual problems especially created by evil spirits in the lives of individuals cannot be resolved by physiological, psychological or even sociological means. Only spiritual tools are effective in correcting those dilemmas.
Evil spirits
My encounter with the young man to whom I earlier made reference, motivated me to take a deeper look at the Holy Bible with specific reference to the operations of evil spirits and how they function.
One significant discovery I made was that the founder of Christianity, Jesus Christ, not only helped individuals with their physical, social, mental, and emotional needs, but also freed people who had developed spiritual problems as a result of the sinister work of evil spirits.His methodology of curing people from such spiritual sickness was different from how he dealt with the other forms of human illnesses. My discoveries turned out to be amazing.
I began to see the Bible not as a reference manual on demonology, but a text which contains numerous principles laid down by Jesus Christ as curative means to help people whose spiritual illnesses are triggered by evil spirits.
The further I delved into the Holy Scriptures over the years, the more I was amazed and filled with wonder at the spiritual power of God in bringing wholeness to the personality of individuals. The subsequent elimination of numerous powerful spirits from the life of the young man of whom I spoke, and seeing the difference in his life, was one of those many wonders. Here are a few examples of how some people were cured from the presence of evil spirits.
The first example is that of a family man who exhibited strange behaviors and was classified as a madman. He had apparently been forced out from his family residence as a result of evil spirits and was living in a graveyard. He was constantly trying to harm himself every day.
He couldn’t sleep, he hated clothes, and could not carry on a normal conversation with people. When Jesus approached him it was obvious from the man’s reaction that he had a spiritual problem that manifested itself in bizarre behaviours.
Distraught dad
After Jesus dealt with the source of the problem, his whole life changed and he was able to go back home to his family. The account is found in the Holy Bible in the book according to St Mark Chapter 5 verses 1-20.
The second example is about a young boy whose distraught father related how the child was displaying suicide tendencies from a very early age. He said that some unseen forces were frequently directing the young child toward water to drown him and sometimes toward fire to burn him up. During and after those terrifying occurrences, the father said that the child became seriously traumatised. When Jesus cured the child of the spiritual problem, the father and those who were present were amazed at the immediate transformation. The narrative is documented by a scientist, Dr Luke, as well as a prominent New Testament figure, Saint Mark (St Luke 9: 37-43; St Mark 9: 14-2).
The third case relates to a woman who had a curved backbone for 18 years. Though the symptoms appeared to be physical in nature, they were not. The source was spiritual. Jesus identified the condition as being caused by a “spirit of infirmity”. He cured her and she walked straight again. This account is also written by the medical doctor, Saint Luke, and is found in the book attributed to him in Chapter 13: 10-17.
Over the years I have come in contact with men, women and children with spiritual problems, some of which were similar to those mentioned above, and saw them cured of such troubles.
I must however point out that some of the symptoms mentioned in the cases above may also be portrayed in the lives of individuals that may have underlying emotional or related issues which may require intervention from health care providers or mental health professionals. Spiritual problems caused by evil spirits are real; don’t be too quick to dismiss them.
• Haynesley Griffith is a marriage and family life consultant. Email: griffitharticles@gmail.com
