Daily Devotional For Thursday, September 18, 2025
Good day Southside. Have you ever really thought about how quickly life can change? Life can flip on you so quickly and without any warning, leaving you in shock and fear. In Mark 1, we learn that Peter’s mother-in-law was very sick. It seems it was rather sudden and when Jesus heard about it, He went to her and healed her. Life is so unfair and cruel at times. Life can take a perfectly good day and turn into a nightmare without any warning.
On September 9, 2019, while driving, I had a stroke and it caused me to go blind in both eyes. I crashed into 2 parked cars. I had just finished riding my bike around Greenfield Lake and was on my way to pick up Emmie, our daughter, from Hoggard High School and take her to her part-time job at Port City Animal Hospital. Well, that never happened. I ended up in ICU for several days until a God-given drug called TPA dissolved the clot in my brain that was causing me to be blind. After about a week, I came home and at the doctor’s orders took 8 weeks off from my church to recover with very close and intimate friends in TN. The doctor said my brain needed to rest so it could recover without having to focus on work, the stress with work and the responsibilities of work. A couple in church paid for my airfare to go there.
That stroke just came out of nowhere just like Peter’s mother-in-law’s illness did to her. Immediately after this, we read this in Mark 1:32-34 says this: “That evening after sunset, many sick and demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. (33) The whole town gathered at the door to watch. (34) So Jesus healed many people who were sick with various diseases, and he cast out many demons. But because the demons knew who he was, he did not allow them to speak” (NLT).
Now what is interesting to me is how legalistic the people were to bring their sick family and friends to Jesus. We know that from Friday evening at sunset to Saturday evening at sunset was the Sabbath. So, all these people honored the Sabbath law not to walk too far, or carry their sick friends. They were almost like us watching the countdown until the Sabbath was over to go to Jesus. The Greek New Testament word translated as “brought” is [φέρω, phero}, which means “to carry a burden or to move by carrying.” This verb translated as “brought” is in the imperfect tense which connotes continual action. People kept bringing people to Jesus to heal. What Jesus had done for Peter’s mother-in-law spread so fast that people were almost lining up at the door right at the second on the clock said, “Sabbath over.”
As we look at Mark 1 we see there were 3 types of people who came: (1) Those who needed healing and help; (2) Those who had brought their family and friends to Jesus to heal, and (3) those who only wanted to watch – the gawkers. They were only interested in watching “the show.” These people never trusted Jesus as the Messiah.
So, one question you might have is why did Jesus silence the demons? I can think of several reasons: (1) To show He had the authority and power over them. (2) Jesus wanted the people to believe He was the Messiah based on His own words and deeds and not on the words of demons. (3) Timing – I think Jesus wanted to control the timing to reveal His identity as the Messiah, not allow the devil to do it in his own diabolical and evil sinister ways. We know the demons knew who Jesus was. We see this in the comments the demons made to Jesus in Mark 1:24, “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” (NLT). The demons knew and acknowledged Who He was. Before people would see Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords, He wanted people to see Him as the suffering servant. Mark’s Gospel makes it clear that Jesus often and intentionally hid His identity so that it would be revealed on His own time.
Assignment: When life catches you off guard, how do you typically respond? Do you immediately pray or do you let whatever it is prey on you? Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is willing and waiting for us, you, to bring these unexpected crises to Him. The next time this happens to you, stop right then and pray.
Scripture To Meditate On: 1 Peter 5:7, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, I am sorry for not coming to You first with prayer concerns immediately. I can fret, get anxious, worry and get even fearful all because I do not come to You first. I hate to admit it Lord – sometimes I live as a practical atheist. I live as if You do not exist when the bottom falls out. Help me to trust You and to come to You first. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly