The Unexpected of Gratitude

Five words have haunted me since last week’s post.

So, I’m revisiting the story of the ten lepers that Jesus healed.

In recalling the story, you know that only one returned to worship and give thanks to the ONE GREAT ENOUGH to heal him of this devastating disease.

That one just happened to be a foreigner.

“He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him — and he was a Samaritan (Luke 17:16)."

And, he was a Samaritan.

Five words.

A Samaritan.

One despised by the Jews.

One belonging to a people group that had experienced generations of hostility and rejection.

And yet...

The doubly cast aside made the extra effort to return to Jesus.

He KNEW!

He knew he what it meant to be rejected.

To be doubly unclean.

To stand on the outside looking in without hope.

But now, the outsider was healed.

Restored.

Made whole.

It was the outsider who recognized and glorified God.

He saw beyond the miracle to the Miracle Maker.

But, what about the others?

What kept them from returning?

Were they excited about their healing and just forgot?

Was there some sense of entitlement that because they were “Jewish (alluded in the story, not specified)” there was an element of “having a right to healing?”

Or were they simply so focused on the gift that they lost sight of the Giver?

We aren’t told.

Yet, it makes me wonder.

Because I know how easily entitlement can creep into my own heart. 

How quickly I can begin to expect God’s blessings rather than marvel at His grace.

How subtly pride can replace humility.

How spiritual blindness can keep me from recognizing the GREAT WHO behind every good and perfect gift. 

Maybe that’s why those five words have lingered with me?

And, he was a Samaritan.

So, another heart-check in the midst of our Season of Thanks. 

Have I allowed pride to creep in and rob me from an attitude of gratitude? 

Have I developed a subtle sense of entitlement, forgetting that everything I have is a gift of grace?

Has spiritual blindness—or at the very least, myopic, tunnel vision—kept me from seeing all that my God IS? From falling at His feet with a humble heart of worship From glorifying Him wholeheartedly?

Am I so busy enjoying the gifts that I forget to worship the Giver?

It's just a thought...

A 10% Return...

Ten were healed. 

All lepers.

Their skin ulcerated...issuing a foul discharge.

At its worst, the disease would have left them, as described by William Barclay in his Study Bible:

Eyebrows gone.

Vocal chords thinning, leaving a raspy/hoarse voice.

Nerve endings numb (which in many cases left them with missing appendages)...

Eyes glazed over and staring.

Muscles wasting away.

Progressively dying.

Shunned by society.

The ten had come seeking Jesus, and found Him along the road, traveling somewhere between Samaria and Galilee.

They kept their distance, as was the Law.

But, despite the difficulty in talking, they cried out for compassion...mercy...help...an answer to their most difficult prayer (ten voices are more easily heard than one)...

They'd, no doubt, heard the stories of Jesus healing other lepers...

I don't know if they expected the response they received, but they listened (and, they did EXACTLY what He said):

"Go and show yourselves to the priests (Luke 17:14a)."

The outcome exactly as they'd hoped...

"And as they went they were cleansed (Luke 17:14b)."

Ten were healed.

Ten received answered prayer.

"One returned to Jesus when he saw that he was healed (Luke 17:15)."

Just one!

He recognized there was a GREAT WHO behind the answered prayer.

"He fell on his face at Jesus feet [in worship] - Luke 17:16"

There is only one response to a GREAT WHO.

Humility.

There is only one realization on the presence of teh GREAT WHO...

I have received what I could never deserve.

And there is only one fitting response to Him;

WORSHIPPING IN GRATITUDE.

"He gave Jesus his thanks (Luke 17:16)."

There's so much more to this story...

For now, this is enough.

I am left to ponder.

Am I the 10%

Or the 90%?

Do I get so caught up in the joy of answered prayers that I forget to turn around?

To fall at His feet?

To recognize the GREAT WHO behind every good and perfect gift?

We've set aside a day in America to give thanks during the coming month...

But, perhaps Thanksgiving isn't so much about setting aside a day...

As it is about remembering to turn around.

To return to the Giver.

To fall at His feet.

To recognize His grace.

And to say,

"Thank You, Jesus."

So, over the next month.

May our hearts remain humble.

And may our recognition of God's gracious gifts be loudly proclaimed!

May we be the ones who turn around!

And, that's just a thought...

Grieved Enough to Act

 It grieved me bitterly (Nehemiah 13:8a, NKJV)...

There are those things that weigh heavy on our hearts…

…and, there are those things that are HEAVY on our hearts.

We’ve all experienced both.

The weight of the burden.

The depth of the grief.

The piercing sorrow.

The poking finger of anguish.

The wishing that what our eyes see is not reality.

It’s how Nehemiah felt when he returned to Jerusalem.

He’d seen the wall finished.

He’d experienced the joy of revival.

He’d returned to serve the King of Babylon with all things well in Israel.

But, when he came back.

What he left and what he returned to didn’t look the same.

Oh, how fast the slide downward, when godly leadership disappears.

The temple had been defiled.

In fact, Nehemiah’s greatest enemy was given a room there.

And, the temple courts had been turned into a marketplace.

Those who served in the temple were being neglected.

The Sabbath was being treated like an ordinary workday.

God’s people were intermarrying with the surrounding nations.

Parents had stopped teaching their children the language and ways of their people, AND, more importantly, the ways of their God. 

Oh, how great the spiritual decline!

He could have just left things alone.

Played the nice guy.

Turned a blind eye.

Kept the peace.

But, his heart was grieved.

He was deeply displeased.

And, there comes a time, when we just can not be silent when God’s Word and His Ways are being ignored. 

So, Nehemiah-the-confronter emerged…

Not because he loved conflict.

But because he loved God too much to pretend everything was fine.

To set about putting things right once again.

Calling people back.

Waking them up. 

To remind them of the strength and joy found in the Lord. 

Nobody wants to be the bad guy.

Nobody particularly enjoys being the one who says, “This isn’t right.”

But when the people of God live in such a way that the watching world sees little evidence of the holiness, power, and goodness of the God we claim to follow, perhaps accountability is one of the first steps toward change. 

And, I admit it.

Confrontation is not my forte.

But maybe the greater question isn’t whether I’m comfortable confronting.

Maybe it’s whether I’m grieved enough to speak when speaking is necessary.

Because sometimes what the Church needs isn’t another comfortable word to tickle ears.

Sometimes, we need a wake-up call.

So, I wonder…

Can I be that Nehemiah when necessary? 

Can I love the Lord, His Word, and His people enough to speak—even when silence would be so much easier?

And, that's just a thought!

No Smoke. 💨 No Mirrors. 🪞 Just the Word. 📖

The Lord has placed a deep love for His Word on my heart.

So, much so that it sometimes takes my breath away.

I recognize why.

It’s because my time spent in God’s TRUTH is never wasted.

I never get up, walk away, and think, “Well, I got absolutely nothing out of what I read today.” 

His still small voice is always just a word, a phrase, a verse or two away. 

And, I leave with something: 

A prayer on my lips.

A nudge in my heart.

A direction to take.

An inspiration for my soul.

An encouragement.

Sometimes, it might be a word of conviction or warning.

BUT - there’s always something to contemplate. 

And, the way God’s uses His Word to spur me onward is something I want for everyone!

So, just the other day, when my morning quiet time took me to Nehemiah 8, the story of Ezra standing before the people to read the Law, resonated - fresh and filled with hope.

The people gathered.

Ezra stood on a platform before them. 

He was there to do exactly what his name implied.

He was there to “help.” 

Yes, he read the words.

But more.

From daybreak until noon, He opened the Word.

He taught. 

He provided meaning.

Brought the words to life.

Gave it clarity. 

Ezra opened the scroll.

He began to read.

The people stood. 

But, their response!

As Ezra praised the Lord.

They lifted their hands and shouted:

“Amen! Amen!”

Then they bowed, faces to the ground, and worshiped the LORD.

They wept. 

They mourned.

Deep conviction fell upon them.

They saw just how far their sin had separated them from their God.

I see the scenario in my mind.

Deep grief.

Snot-running-out-of-their-noses-grief.

What Paul would later call, “Godly Sorrow.”

The kind that leads to repentance. 

I don’t know how long this lasted, before Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites calmed the people, saying:

Do not mourn any longer.

This day is holy unto the Lord.

It has been set apart for joy.

The joy of the Lord that is your strength.

Do not grieve any longer.

And, what happened next is what I long to see among Jesus-Followers.

REVIVAL. 

CELEBRATION.

JOY in the LORD.

Their joy was very great.

(Nehemiah 8:17b)

No magic formula.

No fancy worship.

No smoke and mirrors.

No dog-and-pony show.

The WORD OF THE LORD brought understanding.

Understanding brought conviction.

Conviction led to repentance.

Repentance made way for JOY.

AND, JOY brought REVIVAL.

Which leaves me pondering:

Have we become so distracted, we’ve lost the WORD among the many words?

Have we crowded out the simple power of Scripture with much doings? 

Are we, like Ezra, helping with the clarity and meaning of what God says to us?

Oh, LORD, our great God…

Help us receive Your truth…

Respond to it in humility (and, yes, conviction)..

And, then…

May the joy of theLORD be our strength,

Followed by revival once more.

And, that’s just a thought.

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