By the Power of Christ

“By the power of Christ, demon, be gone!”  Ida Mea, an Evangelist from down south, shouted as she laid her hand on the forehead of this man and effortlessly shoved him over.  I simply thought about how this man must have been a paid actor.  That it would take more than an act of God and a woman who could barely see over the bar counter to knock me down.  I was looking for help finding peace for myself after I had given up drinking, and my friends Elizabeth and Seth brought me to meet Ida Mea that should be able to help.  My palms sweat thinking about having to go up there, about being the center of attention, about all the side groups of people who claimed to be able to speak in tongues praying in a different language about me.  “By the power of Christ, demon, be gone!”  She shouted again.  This time she flattened a young girl no more than 15.  I looked over now towards the man she had previously banished demons in. 

            To my surprise, I didn’t see the skeptical, rough man who walked up there half way wanting help, half way wanting to be left alone.  I saw a man at peace.  Small tears were hung up on his cheeks, as he smiled and looked around as if though he had received a new pair of eyes.  Everything was apparently going well for everyone here, but not me.  Yes, I want a better life, but this is all so freaky.  This superstitious behavior is overwhelming for sure and the people shouting in another language that for all I know is gibberish, is mind-boggling.  When I arrived with Seth and Elizabeth, they explained this to us that people when compelled by God can speak in different languages.  That they have no idea what language they are speaking, or what they are saying, that the good lord has just compelled them and will guide their prayers for the good of the group.  I thought that was just something for us to think about, like a rare occurrence.  I didn’t think it would happen to a majority of the people in the church. 

            Seth and Elizabeth, knowing that I was looking for help or something asked me if I wanted to go up there and meet Ida Mea.  I knew this was coming and I don’t know why I didn’t attempt to duck out into the bathrooms or something until this was over, but I suppose this was the reason I was here, for change.  As I walked up to Ida Mea with Seth and Elizabeth right behind me, I continued to look around and think, is this going to be what my life is like from now one?  Ceremonies and rituals, strange people shouting, shoving, and speaking in foreign languages?  I was terrified, change was coming whether I wanted it or not.  Every step closer I got to Ida Mea I felt myself being ok with the change, but still scared about what life was going to be like after that for me.

            As I approached the old Evangelist, she quite friendly grabbed my hand and asked me my name.  I remember responding much like a little kid in trouble for coloring on the wall.  “Steven”.  Then she kindly said, “Steven, what brings you here today?”  All of a sudden I was blank, I had no idea.  I thought she was going to tell me everything; in fact, that’s why I came to someone else so I didn’t have to figure out my own problems.  I felt more embarrassed than anything when I shrugged my shoulders and muttered out the word drunk.  Of course, that’s not what I wanted to say at all.  That I was drunk, or maybe that I had a drinking problem, or I was trying to have a better life or anything but that.  She squeezed my hand a little harder and I saw her face light up, it was if every winkle disappeared and she had light bulbs behind her eyes.  She asked me “Steven, would you like to accept Jesus Christ into your heart today as your lord and savior?”  I squeezed her hand and attempted to say something.  I couldn’t.  I kept thinking about how I was going to have to be so much different from the Steven I knew.  That life was never going to be the same.  All I could conjure up was a slight nod. 

            It was as if I was the special case and she called all the praying people in the church to her side, to surround us with prayers as she casts the demons from me, and that I had accepted Jesus into my heart.  I cannot recall what I was feeling in that moment, just seeing people gather in a circle all around me.  I was looking around until I met eyes with a wooden replica of Jesus on a cross.  His eyes said it all.  In them I saw pain, love, disappointment, and hope.  I felt okay with my decision after this.  I knew that in just a matter of time my life would only be getting better.  I turned around one last time to look at Seth and Elizabeth, who never left my side.  They placed their hands on my shoulders and smiled at me knowing that they had led a lost lamb back to his shepherd.  Then I reconnected eye contact with the wooden sculpture of Jesus before closing my eyes and feeling Ida Mea lay her hand upon my head.  “By the power of Christ, demon, be gone!”

            Strange, I didn’t feel any different and I was still standing.  I heard her scream it louder this time, “By the power of Christ, demon, be gone!”  The people around us were praying louder than they were before, maybe because I was still standing.  I was so confused.  Ida Mea asked me one more time “Steven, do you want to accept Jesus Christ in your heart today?”  This time the words were there and waiting to escape from inside me.  “Yes, I want Jesus to make me better!”  I practically yelled at her.  “BY THE POWER OF CHRIST, DEMON, BE GONE!”  Ida Mea shouted so loud that I thought the stained glass windows of the church would shatter.  This time when she spoke these words something different happened.  I felt myself crumble backwards, right into the arms of Seth and Elizabeth. 

I felt lifeless in my body, somehow outside of myself.  My eyes I could feel them closed, but also I could see.  There was a vision of me almost like a movie and I was staring directly at myself.  As I walked closer to myself, the background changed in an abyss, something that would remind me of a whirlpool.  It was black and red and it seemed to spiral out for an eternity.  I walked closer to the other me and we merged and became one.  Looking dead into the abyss images of things I had considered evil flowed out of me into the never-ending spiral.  I saw alcohol, horror movie characters like Freddy Kruger and Chucky, prostitutes, drugs, and weapons of all types.  I remember feeling lighter after each image spiraled out of sight.

            My eyes opened finally and I was back in the church.  Ida Mea reached underneath my shoulders to lift me up.  Seth and Elizabeth helped her pick me back up onto my feet.  I could still hear the others praying and was no longer scared of it.  I was happy, genuinely happy, as I looked Ida Mea in the eyes to thank her.  She said, “Thank Jesus, I am just one of his messengers.” Seth and Elizabeth each took me by the hand and led me outside.  They both told me how proud and happy they were for me on the way out the doors.  When I crossed through the doors from the church, I was stopped in my tracks.  The sun was shining and I could hear birds chirping.  Certainly I have found inner peace.    

            

Author's Note

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