When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!”

-Mark 5:6-7, NIV

Serious spiritual dimensions are at play in adultery situations.

Some cheaters react like scalded with hot water when confronted with the truth of the Bible that condemns adultery. They think we are being abusive by simply reminding them of the truth–namely, God unequivocally condemns adultery (e.g. Exodus 20:14, Malachi 2:11, and Mathew 5:27).

Honestly, I believe the spiritual realm reacts to light. When light starts pouring into a situation, the cheater has the choice to face the light or pull themselves back into the darkness. They fear the presence of light.

Sadly, many cheaters prefer hiding in the darkness.

Like the demons in this man, they know when they are encountering the living God inside of us. So, it is likely the cheater is experiencing torment as someone who has given himself or herself over to the darkness. (Now, that does not mean “the devil made me do it” as they chose darkness over light and often did so repeatedly.)

I wonder how many of us can picture a moment when a dark force seemed to come over our once beloved spouse in a conversation. 

There are forces at work in this world that we do not fully appreciate. We might look at the story in Mark 5 as a quaint story from a backwards society. However, we would be the fools if we did so.

The demonic is real.

Anyone who has gone through a divorce from a cheater probably could tell you hair-raising stories about encountering true evil. I suspect the spiritual realm is adding fuel to those fires.

Yet we need not fear. Demons–as this story illustrates–fear who lives in us. They plead for mercy from Jesus, and He indwells us through the Holy Spirit.

Yes, it is a battle. We ought not to be ignorant of this. However, we never have to fear for ourselves as we live with the authority of the Victor inside of us.