1 - Some Vacation!

Mark 7:
24. And from there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden.
25. For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet.
26. The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
NKJV

Jesus had just had a major confrontation with the religious leaders who were trying to find a legal reason to have Him murdered. His life was so busy sometimes, that He hardly had time to eat.

So He left Israel and went to the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon for a short break from the crowds, and probably also to speak privately with his disciples.

But even outside of Israel they had heard about Him, and this Gentile mother came to plead with Jesus to heal her daughter.
The complaint bothering the child was an unclean spirit.

Maybe your reaction to this complaint is,
What's an unclean spirit anyway?
Or maybe your reaction is,
That's dark-ages foolishness! Let's move on!
Or maybe you think,
Must we really talk about this? It's spooky!

Jesus Himself had none of these responses, because during His public ministry He got rid of unclean spirits out of the lives of many people.

An unclean spirit torments the life of its victim mercilessly.
The chief characteristic of this condition is restlessness: no peace on the inside.
This can result constantly confused thoughts, feelings of being isolated and rejected.

On the outside, sometimes there is a perpetually unkempt appearance, or difficulty sleeping, or various obsessions, or a vagrant lifestyle, and sometimes even mental illness.

Of course the presence of these symptoms in someone's life does not automatically mean that an unclean spirit is present in a person's life.

But it is a wise thing to do what this mother did and seek out the help of the Lord Jesus, since He is the great healer of both soul and body.

Prayer:
Father, today I submit myself to Your ministering in my inner person.
You see the areas where I have no peace and I ask that You will show me how to come to the place of inner rest in You.
Begin Your healing process in me today, Lord Jesus,
because You are the Saviour and Healer of my soul and body,
Amen.