Daily Devotional

When determining the most dangerous animals on the planet, we immediately think of giant teeth and nasty claws. But another way to assess ferocious creatures is by their character and personality. That’s why the weasel would be considered the smallest and most hostile carnivore. Pound for pound, it is one of the most vicious hunters, capable of pouncing on and killing a rabbit five times its size.

Perhaps the most bad-tempered animal on earth is the wild boar. It is native to most of Eurasia, North Africa, and the Greater Sunda Islands. These unruly swine have frequently placed humans on the run with a tendency to attack with their razor-sharp tusks when they are enraged by an invasion of their territory. In Japanese culture, the boar is known as a reckless and fearsome animal. Many cultures venerate the wild boar as an animal embodying the virtues of a warrior.

Jesus and His disciples once encountered two wild and fearsome men who were demon-possessed. Locals wouldn’t even pass near the reck- less victims of the devil, worried that they would be attacked. But though Christ’s disciples turned and fled when the wild men ran toward them, Jesus stood His ground.

The Saviour saw beneath the dangling chains, the matted hair, and the filthy bodies of these captives of Satan. He perceived desperate hearts wanting to be set free and so He confronted the demons that controlled the helpless demoniacs. With a word, Christ sent the demons into a herd of pigs, which madly dashed over a cliff and drowned.

When the devil tries to scare you into submission, stand by Jesus. Nothing frightens Him. Nothing puts Christ on the run. We are safe at His side. Just ask the two men of the Gergesenes.

“There is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God. A place where sin cannot molest, near to the heart of God.”

For Further Study: Matthew 8:28–34; Mark 5:1–20; Luke 8:26–39