Throw the First PunchSample

There’s a story in Mark 4 and 5 that begins with Jesus talking to His disciples in Capernaum, telling them He wants to cross the Sea of Galilee to visit the Decapolis. All we read in our Bibles is that the disciples obeyed, but imagine for a moment, with some context, how they might have wrestled with this assignment.

First of all, they would have to cross a large body of water, which in that time was metaphorical for the abyss—a belief fed by stories of Jonah and Noah. Maybe they didn’t want to cross the abyss, and for whom? Some in the Decapolis (we now know thanks to archaeologists) were worshipping the gods of fertility and wine.

However, the disciples obeyed, and when they climbed into the boat, the calm sea became a storm. Sometimes obedience is met with a storm of spiritual resistance.

What storms have you faced from saying yes to Jesus?

Jesus taught those disciples—and the rest of us—exactly what to do when the activities we are engaged in are spiritually opposed. Jesus silenced the storm with the words from His mouth, “Peace, be still!” (Mark 4:39 NKJV). I have access to this same power, as He’s given me through the the Holy Spirit.

What do you usually pray or say when you feel darkness closing in?

They arrived in the Decapolis, and Jesus was met on the shore by a demon-possessed man named Legion. He had blood in his veins and breath in his lungs; however, his friends and family had chained him to a gravesite, his life already considered worthless. Emboldened by those demons, he broke free from the chains and came up to Jesus. Jesus took one look at him and knew exactly what was going on. He saw pigs up on the Decapolis cliffside, which were often sacrificed on the altars of the gods of fertility and wine. He cast the demons into those pigs, and they ran off into the sea.

Jesus got into the boat and crossed back over the abyss, going home to Capernaum. The first time my heart fully wrapped around this story, I thought, He did all of that abyss crossing for one person? And it wasn’t even the coolest person there? He crossed for the most unlikely, unwanted, discarded member of society.

Who crossed the abyss for you? Reach out to them, thanking them for the storms they faced following this call.

We read more about this area, both in Scripture and in history, and learn Christianity exponentially grew in this place. When God decides to take back from the darkness what Satan has claimed as his, He’s thinking about more than just the immediate moment or the person directly affected. God looks at whole lives, and when He frees us, it’s not only for now, it’s for stories and generations to come.

This is the heart of God: to deliver us from evil and to redeem what was stolen. The joke is on the Enemy; he is used unintentionally in our sanctification. As we fight the good fight and participate in what the Bible calls “good warfare,” we draw closer to God and in our understanding of the spiritual realm we cannot see. It often starts with our yes. Yes, I will step forward without all the information. Yes, I will speak up even if my heart is racing. Yes, I will take a thought captive. Yes, I will give when I would rather not. Yes, yes. Yes.

What do Romans 2:4; 2 Corinthians 7:10; and 2 Timothy 2:25 have in common?

The spread of the gospel requires battle, and God set it up so we’d partner with Him in this fight.

What has God rescued you from?

Where do you sense God’s invitation to fight for Him?

Lord, I am so grateful You came for me, and You use my choices—both good and bad—for my sanctification. Teach me to have eyes to see Your astonishing rescue plan and praise You for it. Amen.

Learn more about Throw the First Punch and other resources by Beth here .