A solution is a solution...

Mark 1
23 Suddenly, a man in the synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit began shouting,
24 “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One sent from God!”

25 Jesus cut him short. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered.
26 At that, the evil spirit screamed, threw the man into a convulsion, and then came out of him.

Was blowing through this story today and thought a couple of things.
1) Bet that convulsion wasn't so pleasant...but it had to be done. Couldn't Jesus have thrown out a "no convulsions clause" or something? Then I thought...a solution is a solution and sometimes, we don't get shed of unwanted and harmful stuff without a bit of a fight or some unpleasantness... Maybe it's still the same today...anyone....anyone...Buehler?
2) How long did that thing last? Doesn't really say and you'd probably think it was only a minute or two...but it could have been longer. I guess if you think about it and consider that it might not have been instantaneous, it gives you a different view on solutions from God. I don't know why Jesus chose to let it go down like that, but he definitely had a reason for it to be that way.
Could it be a teaching tool for the guy to stop a behavior that left him vulnerable for the attack? Bet he'd remember that...
Could it be that others around needed to know how bad this type of thing was, so they needed a little bit of a scary show? I don't know and the Bible certainly doesn't really tell us here, but...it all happened under the sovereignty of God... Something to think about.

I wonder if this guy was ready to give up or thought the whole situation just had gotten worse in about second number 2 of that convulsion?
I wonder if he wondered if Jesus really did know what He was doing for a minute?
Could the possessed man have thought that the spirit was more powerful than Christ because he didn't like the violent nature of his present state in the midst of the convulsion?

Anyway...it made me think that some of God's needed and "welcomed" solutions aren't without price/turmoil/conflict...that, in the middle of them, it might not really seem as He knows what He's doing if you only trust in the present and what you see. And, sometimes, they might take longer to complete than we'd want them to...

Please continue to pray for us as we try to be the church in Palm Bay at Bay West Church.