An Attitude of Gratitude: Luke 17:11-18
One of the stories that we have highlighted in the past has been from the book of Luke in the New Testament where Jesus heals ten lepers. Because leprosy was a contagious bacterial disease that would damage nerves and disfigure its host with skin sores, infections, loss of fingers and toes, lepers had to stay far away from those who were healthy. They were outcasts and their community consisted of other lepers. They could not be with their families or loved ones.
When Jesus entered into a certain village a group of lepers who were standing afar off, raised their voices loudly and asked Jesus to have mercy on them. When Jesus saw them, He said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” According to the law of Moses, the priests would inspect them to see if they were clean, meaning free of leprosy. Only the priests could declare them clean and fit to go back into society. As the ten lepers obeyed Jesus and were on their way to see the priests, they were healed of leprosy.
When the lepers saw they were cleansed of the disease, one of them, a Samaritan and not a full Israelite, returned to Jesus, glorifying God. He fell at Jesus’ feet and gave Him thanks. Jesus asks, “Were there not ten cleansed, where are the nine?” Jesus is surprised that the others did not return to give glory to God, except this one stranger, a Samaritan, who is not of the household of Israel. Jesus tells him to arise and says his faith has made him whole. We can only surmise that any missing fingers, toes, or any other parts of the body that had been damaged by the disease were made whole and complete.
Thanksgiving to God should be an everyday affair in our lives and not just on Sundays at church or when we have a miracle. The Book of Psalms is full of scriptures giving thanks and praise to God. “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalm 100:1-5.Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
When we go through challenging times, rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks may not be top of mind. We don’t thank God for bad circumstances such as illness, poverty, pain, etc., but in our circumstances, we give God thanks that He will bring us through victoriously and we thank Him for the answers to our prayers. We find the scriptures that address our challenges and pray for them and thank God for the positive outcomes of those scriptures.
One of my favorite scriptures is in Philippians 4:6-7. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
So don’t worry about what is going on in the world, what is going on in your life, and what is going on with others you care about. Jesus wants to hear your prayer, your requests, and your thanks for the answer and He will give you that peace that comes from God. Our Father God is loving, caring, and gracious. Make thanksgiving a daily habit not only to God but also to your fellow man. (Psalm 50:14; Col. 3:17)
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Personal Development Tip of the week:
Remember this week that God wants you to prosper in all the areas of your life.
Some people only think the word Prosper means to succeed in material terms but if you look into the Greek, it means “to help on the road” or “succeed in reaching”.
And we cannot forget that the more meaning we can give to powerful words like prosper we can expand our outlook on life, our relationship with God, and anything we are looking to accomplish.
One way I define Prosper for myself that helps me a lot is, “To Move Forward”. If I can focus on moving forward a little bit each day in all the areas of my life I can have more confidence, resilience, joy, happiness, and all the things God wants to give me. It’s about Progress Not Perfection.
1 Question for you this week? - What does the word prosper mean to you and can you give it more than one meaning that empowers your life?
Let me know in the comments below!
Prayer for the week:
Lord, use me in all the areas of my life this week to be a vessel for your goodness. Bless me to treat people how I would like to be treated and to not worry about anything that goes wrong but to pray about everything. Thank God it’s Monday and thank you Lord for always being for me never against me in my journey. You are still on the throne and just getting started on my life. Bless me today to have the best day ever because it’s a new day in Jesus name amen!
-Dayne
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An Attitude of Gratitude