Go to Him just as you are
Then they came to Jesus and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. ~ Mark 5:15
What if the very thing you are trying to fix before going to Jesus is the very thing He is asking you to bring to Him just as it is. What if you don’t have to clean up the messes you are currently in before you go to Him in prayer. I used to feel like I needed to make everything perfect in my life before I could be in a position to reach out to Him with my worries and concerns.
Recently, as I was in prayer, the Lord showed me a picture of what it looks like when I carry my burdens to Him. As I lifted my hands and palms up in worship, I sensed this is how it looks when I bring Him my cares and concerns. In that position, I am taking every care, every concern, every request, and surrendering it before Him.
As I prayed, I realized something deeper. When I lay something down before Him, I am not meant to pick it back up again. Instead, I receive what He gives in return. Sometimes the answer is to wait. Sometimes it is a quiet assurance that He has it. Other times it is clear direction to follow. No matter what the answer is, I know I have received it because peace settles in my heart.
That peace becomes my evidence that I have truly given it to Him. I do not leave that place of prayer until I receive His peace. If I leave before that peace settles in my heart, then no exchange has truly been made. I need His peace as the confirmation that I have released my dilemma and received the assurance that He is taking care of the struggles that He has for me in return.
From that moment on, when the situation comes back to mind, I choose to be thankful. I thank Him that He has taken that concern and He is working on it. I continue to thank Him until I see the answer show up in real time. I remember the moment I placed it in His hands and received His provision and us that memory as an anchor for my faith to hold on to. Even if nothing has changed yet in the natural circumstances, I trust that something has already shifted in the Spirit.
If I find myself going back and asking Him for the same thing again and again, I realize I have not fully released it. I am carrying the burden back and forth instead of leaving it with Him. He is calling me to trust Him more deeply, to lay it down once and walk forward with what He has placed in my heart to replace that problem.
Sometimes this kind of prayer takes longer than simply telling Him what the problem is. I have to ask Him for wisdom and direction and take the time to listen in my heart for the words or pictures He ministers back to me. But it is always worth the time it takes, because the burden lifts, peace settles in, and I leave knowing that He is already at work, bringing everyone involved to a better place than they were before the crisis began.
Today’s reading in Mark 5 brings this picture to life. A man who had been tormented ran to Jesus at his first opportunity. He didn’t try to clean himself up and he didn’t try to fix his situation first. He simply went to Jesus as he was.
Jesus didn’t reject him in his condition. He met him there.
Jesus immediately recognized the problem and brought deliverance. When it was finished, the man was no longer the same. He was sitting, clothed, and in his right mind. Then Jesus gave him direction so he could walk in lasting freedom.
He did not leave the same way he came, and he did not have to make himself better before coming to Jesus. Jesus made him better because the man ran to Him for help.
This is what happens when we go to Jesus. We do not have to be perfect, prepared, or put together. We can come just as we are, and He meets us there. Then He leads us through the situation, bringing healing, direction, and restoration that leaves us stronger and more whole than we were before.
Here are some simple ways to begin walking this out in your own life:
- Go to Jesus as you are, do not wait until you feel ready or have it all together
- Be honest about your situation, hold nothing back from Him
- Lay your cares before Him in prayer, intentionally release them
- Ask Him for His wisdom and direction, then take time to listen
- Receive the peace He gives, let it settle in your heart as confirmation
- Write down what you sensed Him telling you to review what stress over the situation comes
- Walk forward in what He shows you, even if it requires trust and humility
- Thank Him for what He is doing, even before you see the outcome
You were never meant to fix yourself before coming to Jesus. You were meant to come to Him so He could do the work in you and through you.
Today I want to encourage you to stop trying to clean everything up before going to Him and simply come as you are. Bring your situation, your struggle, and your questions to Jesus and lay them at His feet. Receive His peace, follow His direction, and trust that as you walk with Him, He will lead you to an outcome that leaves you stronger, freer, and more whole than you ever were before.
Today’s scripture reading: Mark 5:1-20
1 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes.
2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
3 who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains,
4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.
5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.
6 When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him.
7 And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”
8 For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!”
9 Then He asked him, “What is your name?”
And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”
10 Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.
11 Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains.
12 So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.”
13 And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea and drowned in the sea.
14 So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened.
15 Then they came to Jesus and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.
16 And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine.
17 Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.
18 And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him.
19 However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.”
20 And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.
Journal:
- What am I currently carrying that I need to lay down before Jesus
- What has God already spoken to me about this situation that I need to trust
- How will I remind myself to walk in peace instead of picking the burden back up again
- What step can I take today to follow the direction He is giving me
- What would it look like for me to leave His presence different than when I came
The Daily Dose 