Text: Mark 5:1-2, 12-19
Memory Verse: “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’” (Mark 5:19).
A permission is the authorisation or formal consent granted to do something. It is usually required from a higher authority or the person in charge in any situation. Permission can be granted or denied and, in some cases, has limits or restrictions. Two requests for permission were made in Mark 5. The first was by the demons, requesting permission to go into the swine, and the second was by the man who had been healed. While the first was granted, the second was denied. The higher authority in charge and from whom permission was sought in both cases was Jesus.
Adam and Eve had God’s permission to eat of any tree in the garden of Eden but were restricted from eating the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16 & 17). The permission they were given had restrictions and, though aware, they chose to disobey. They were lured away by their desires.
In Numbers 22, twice, Balaam sought permission from God to go with King Balak’s messengers. He understood that God had denied him permission the first time but failed to understand that he had been granted permission grudgingly the second time. Why did he seek permission the second time? It was because of his own desire and preference, and this beclouded God’s instructions to him.
Contravening the permission given always has consequences. Your disobedience to God’s instructions will have consequences. In what ways and areas are your desires getting in the way of your obedience?
Prayer Points:
1. Please, Lord, forgive my disobedience.
2. Help me, Lord, as I put my fleshly desires under submission to You.