A thankful heart
A thankful heart will bring you God?s favour.
" 11 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. 13 And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"
"14 So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. "
"15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God,
16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. 17 So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18 Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?"
19 And He said to him, "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well." "
"Luke 17:11-19 NKJV"
Ten lepers sought Jesus for healing.
In response to Jesus? instruction they made way to the High Priest. Along the way their physical healing manifested. Only one of them returned to give thanks and glory to God.
All of us witnessed the goodness of God in the year 2002. Things may have been tough at times but we are still here, serving the Lord, to prove His faithfulness
The art of giving thanks is one sure way of bringing us into the blessings of God. Consider the following benefits of thanksgiving.
- You will hear the voice of God more clearly. The only leper who heard the words of Jesus in verses 17 19 is the one who returned to give thanks. The others left after hearing the instructions. Heaven knows that we all need to heed the voice of God if we are to stay free from trouble and destruction. When God sends you a blessing, either in form of healing, protection or financial wealth, do you get so excited with the blessing that you forget the one who blessed you? Those who learn to be thankful: setting aside time, money and making the effort to acknowledge the goodness of God privately and publicly, will receive more from Him
- You will arise and go your way in peace. All the lepers received their physical healing. But only the one who came back to give thanks to Jesus received the reason for his healing. By learning the reason for his healing he had a better chance of withstanding the counter attacks of the enemy. His thankfulness allowed God?s healing in his body to touch his heart. Physical blessings are a means of God giving us the true riches. Those that give thanks will learn more from the Lord. They will go in peace in every sense of the word.
- Your life will minister to others. Notice that the remarks of Jesus in verses 17- 19 were made in public. One leper?s thankfulness ministered to others. You give glory to God and testimony to other people when you learn to be thankful. Share your testimony of God?s goodness in church, with friends and even non-Christians. Testimony is a powerful means of thanksgiving.
- You will find favour with God. Listen to the words of Jesus in verses 17 - 19 and you will find them pregnant with His appreciation and favour for the leper. The words Jesus spoke to that leper were power packed with the favour of God. If that leper were living in this year I doubt he would be worried by the sounds of war or the chances of catching some horrible disease. One word from heaven is enough to keep you, not to talk about a whole paragraph!
Make a decision to abide under the favour of God this year. Be thankful. A thankful person does not go around complaining about everything. Rather they are full of praise to God.
Get the point and you will enjoy the year.