WHERE ARE THE NINE?

30 Days of Thanksgiving devotions by husband Steve Long - Visit his blog at Reflecting the Light

Where are the Nine? – Thirty Days of Thanksgiving

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Once, when the Lord Jesus Christ was travelling from the northern part of Israel to Jerusalem, he entered a certain village. While there, he encountered ten men with leprosy. Because their disease was so contagious and deadly, they stood at a distance. They cried out to him, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"

When he saw them, Jesus said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests," which was what God had commanded in the Jewish law.

Miraculously, while they were going, they were healed and cleansed of their leprosy!

The bible says;

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at (Jesus’) feet, giving him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.

So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?" And He said to him, "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” (See Luke 17.11-19)

Here’s a statistic for you. One out of nine desperate men who had cried out loudly to Jesus and gotten healed came back to give him thanks. That’s only 10%!

I wonder if today, only 10% are truly thankful to God for his great blessings. I'm not saying that I'm "the one," or trying to act holier than thou because I’m not. I’m sure there have been plenty of times when God blessed me and I failed to thank him. Every meal, every drink of water, every breath, every heartbeat is a blessing from God. Have I been thankful?

As far as I know, I have never been healed of a terrible disease, but I can say that God has daily prevented me from contacting such a disease. How thankful am I for this and so many other benefits?

Speaking of 10%, could it be that many of us give thanks to God only about 10% of the time that we should have. Most of the time, I think maybe we’re just oblivious. But, you know what? God just keeps blessing us anyway. “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust,” Jesus said.

God is seeking those who will worship him “in Spirit and truth.” (John 4.23-24). Will you be one? Will you pause for just a moment and fall on your face at Jesus’ feet and thank him for all that he has done for you? Was there something in the past that you forgot to thank him for? Thank him now.

Do you feel that you don’t deserve to be in his presence? Neither did this Samaritan. He had it all stacked against him, but out of love and faith, he boldly showed his gratitude to Jesus. He put Jesus before his ego. He put Jesus before the letter of the law and he put Jesus before his own personal interests.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the many times you have healed us and for innumerable times you've prevented us from something worse than any trial we've faced.