First Baptist Church of Herndon

The Demons Within

Linda Soller | Oct 09, 2017

I want to believe in demons. I really want to believe there is something evil that enters people and makes them do the horrific things we hear about in the news. Part of me doesn’t want to accept that a person in their right mind could do such evil things. I envision the demon screaming in their head, driving them to distraction. To me the idea of demons would be easier to accept than the thought of someone who lives daily with such little respect for human life. It must be demons, because so often the friends and family members claim that they can’t believe their loved one could do such a thing. You see, demons are sneaky and it appears they can control their evil ways so they aren’t exposed. Otherwise those friends and family members would have seen the signs of pending violence, right?  I also think the demons manipulate people to protect themselves. Why else would it not strike someone as odd that one person checks into a hotel, enters a school, or enters a public place with an arsenal? Why wouldn’t it be concerning that anyone would feel the need to own an arsenal at all? Yes, those demons are manipulative, nasty, and evil.

Jesus spent a fair amount of time during his ministry dealing with demons. They feared him, and they knew of his power. The demons hid in people during biblical times too. When Jesus walked up the demons learned what fear felt like. Jesus drove them out. Jesus saved those who demons had possessed.  Jesus didn’t ignore the demons, nor can we. We can’t pretend we don’t see the warning signs because we don’t want to deal with the demons. We must learn to control them if only by controlling the hate with love, the weapons with reason, and the prejudice with wisdom.  We must make it harder for demons to wreak havoc.

Yes, I think there must be demons. I looked it up in the dictionary and the word is there. I don’t even think they are always smart. They often destroy themselves when destroying others. Perhaps it is the destruction they crave. If we fear the demons within instead of fighting them with faith, they win.

Pray today, tomorrow, every day for those who died and were injured in Las Vegas at the hands of evil!   Linda