What Possesses You?

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and a pastor's wife, so people come to me for help with various problems (mental, emotional, spiritual, familial, etc.). I constantly see people who are possessed, not by demons, but by other issues (addictions, anger, unhealthy relationships, etc.). Some people don't even know that they are possessed, yet there are common signs.

      There is a passage of Scripture that lays these signs out in the Bible. In Luke 8:26-39, Luke tells the story of a time Jesus healed a man who was filled with many demons. There are four aspects of the man's attitude and circumstance that align with those I see in people who are possessed. You can tell you are possessed if you see these signs in your life.

1. You lose hope 

      Luke 8:27 (NLT) says, "As Jesus was climbing out of the boat, a man who was possessed by demons came out to meet him. For a long time he had been homeless and naked, living in a cemetery outside the town.” 

      The first thing I noticed when reading this passage is that the man was already acting like his life was over and nothing could be done. He didn’t wear clothes and didn’t live in a house. Instead, he chose to live in a cemetery.

      As a counselor, one of the things I look for during my sessions with a client is hope. Hope shows me that a person has something to keep them going. It shows me they are willing to fight and do the work to keep moving forward because they believe they can get past their negative situation. The man in this story didn’t have hope. He was living like he was dead. 

  It is important to make clear that hope isn’t us just trying to think positively. Our thoughts and our feelings can change within minutes. If we truly want to have a hope that lasts, it needs to be based on certainty or truth. As Christians, we can place our hope in God and His promises because He is consistent. He does not change.

  In the first sentence of Hebrews 6:19 (NLT), the author describes our hope in God. He says, “This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.” Anchors keep boats in place so they don’t get set off course or badly destroyed during storms. Our hope in God can keep us stable during hard times. It keeps us from letting our emotions or temporary circumstances dictate how we live, but it isn’t always easy. We get knocked over by our difficult circumstances. It would be idealistic to think we would never get discouraged as Christians or lose hope.

  In fact, you may have already lost hope. Maybe you believe you won’t ever have a good or loving family. Or maybe you believe that you’ll never be able to stop cutting. Some of you may have lost hope that you’ll ever be able to get over your addiction (whether it’s to drugs, alcohol, pornography, sex, etc.). Losing hope doesn’t just happen over night. Your loss of hope was probably the result of your loss of control. That is the second way you can tell if you are possessed.

2. You lose control

  Luke 8:29 (NLT) says, “This spirit had often taken control of the man. Even when he was placed under guard and put in chains and shackles, he simply broke them and rushed out into the wilderness, completely under the demon’s power.” 

      The man lost hope because he often lost control. There were times when he was “completely under the demon’s power.” Some of you can relate to that feeling. Our first response when we see that we have a problem is to try fixing it ourselves. We try to get rid of it, but what sometimes happens is that instead of controlling the problem, it controls you.

  None of your efforts seem to work. You try finding accountability, but you find ways around it. You lie or tell half truths. Maybe you tried blocking a person you knew you shouldn’t be talking to or entertaining, but only ended up allowing them back into your life. Many of you have probably looked at your issue saying “this is the last time”, but found yourselves going back to it. And now you feel stuck. Now you don’t even know how to stop because everything you’ve tried hasn’t worked.

  That’s probably what the man felt. People got around him to help control the issue, but it didn’t work. He was chained and broke through them! I’m sure there were times when he felt trapped. And that’s how you feel. You’re stuck in this never ending cycle. You can even see it coming now and still there are days when you feel like you can’t stop it. You already know when you’re going to turn to that unhealthy relationship. You can feel when you’re about to blow up at someone in rage. You can tell that your abusive thoughts are only making you hate yourself more. But, you’ve lost control.

  The sad part is, there are probably people around you who have given up. They’re upset at you because they think you don’t care anymore, when in reality, you feel powerless. You've lost people to this issue. That is the third way to determine if you are possessed. 

3. You lose people

  Going back to the last sentence in Luke 8:27 (NLT), it says, “For a long time he had been homeless and naked, living in a cemetery outside the town" (emphasis mine). For a long time, this man was living alone. He didn’t even live in town anymore. He was isolated. 

      Want to know what’s even sadder than that?

  After Jesus cast out the demons that were possessing the man, it says in verses 38-39a (NLT), “The man who had been freed from the demons begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him home, saying, ‘No, go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you.’” 

      That man had a home and a family. They gave up on him. 

      The issue that’s possessing you may have caused people to walk out of your life too. Maybe you’ve lost friends who got tired of trying to help you or of seeing you fall. Maybe you’ve lost relationships with family members because they have been disappointed by your issues or have even been hurt by them.

  When you are possessed, the people who care about you either get pushed away or walk out. It may be because of the lies, the way you treat them, the things you are doing to yourself, etc. They can’t be around you anymore because they just don’t know how to. Their efforts aren’t getting through to you and they can’t watch you self-destruct. 

  You’re alone. 

  When you lose control, you lose hope and you lose people. When you have lost that much, it is easy to lose your identity. That is the final way to determine if you are possessed.

4. You lose your identity

      Before Jesus casts out the demons, he asks the man a question. Luke 8:30 (NLT) says, “Jesus demanded, ‘What is your name?  ‘Legion,’ he replied, for he was filled with many demons.” 

      The man began to identify himself by his problem. I want you to notice something: The second sentence in verse 29 says, “This spirit had often taken control of the man”  (emphasis mine). The word “often” tells us that the man wasn’t always under the influence of demons, yet he still identified himself by what possessed him. Nowhere else is he referred to as Legion. Think about it. This wasn’t just a description. Your name is who you are. It’s how people identify you and how you identify yourself.

  Sometimes we identify ourselves by what possesses us. It may not be as outright as making it your name, but it becomes what you accept about yourself and your circumstance. It’s what you allow yourself to be known by. It sounds like this, “I’m a cutter. I'm just an angry person. I can’t not be in a relationship.” These issues become who you are rather than what you struggle with.

  It becomes an excuse to stay in that situation even if you’re miserable. “It’s just how I am. It’s how I deal with things.” The reality is, your issue possesses you. You lost control and so you lost hope that you could change and things could be different. You lost the people you care about and so now you feel alone. What you have left is what possesses you and so that has become your identity. 

The good news is, you don't have to live possessed. Jesus drove out the man’s demons. Listen to what it says in Luke 8:35b-c (NLT): “A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been freed from the demons. He was sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid.”

  Before, the man had been described as possessed by demons, homeless, naked, living in a cemetery, and often completely under the demon’s power. Now, the man is described as being freed from the demons, clothed, and sane. This is the complete opposite of what his situation had been before. In fact, in the last sentence of this story (verse 39b) it says, “So he went all through the town proclaiming the great things Jesus had done for him.”

  Everything had changed. He regained hope, control, the people in his life, and gained a new identity. It all changed because of an encounter with God. 
      I know there are people reading this who are possessed; not by demons, but by other issues. I want you to take a minute and think. What is possessing you? What has caused you to lose control? What has made you give up hope? What has driven people out of your life? What has caused you to give up who God created you to be?

My last question is this: what do you want to do about it?

You can keep living a dead life or you can choose freedom. God gave that man a new identity. He restored everything that he lost while he was possessed. God has a plan and purpose for you, and you living possessed is not one of them. I believe that's why He has you reading this blog post.

  Jeremiah 29:11-14a (NLT) says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you'” (emphasis mine).

  If you want freedom from whatever possesses you (whether it’s anxiety, addiction, an unhealthy relationship, guilt, etc.), I want you to get away from whatever device you are using to read this and pray because that verse said that if we seek Him wholeheartedly, we will find Him. Ask God for help. Tell Him all that you’ve been feeling. Ask Him to restore your hope in Him and His plan for your life. If you seek Him, you will find Him.