Today’s Scripture Reading: Luke 17:1-19; SOAP / Luke 17:17-19
Then Jesus said, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Was no one found to turn back and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to the man, “Get up and go your way. Your faith has made you well.”
Luke 17:17-19 NET
Have you ever prayed fervently for something or even quickly called out in the midst of a trial for something – and then seen the answer You cried out for but realized later that you never even stopped to tell God thank you? We don’t mean to ignore or make light of what He’s done but we get caught up with life, sometimes so much so that, occasionally, as the Samaritan seems to do in our story today, we don’t even realize our prayer has been answered. Read the story again, verses 11-19.
- Ten men with leprosy met Jesus as He was entering a village.
- Standing at a distance, they called out to Jesus for mercy .
- Jesus saw them and said to them “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”
- And as they went along, they were cleansed.
- note: not just one but all ten were cleansed
- And as they went along, they were cleansed.
- Only one of the ten, saw he was healed and turned back, praising God with a loud voice. 16 He fell with his face to the ground at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.(Now he was a Samaritan.) He didn’t just run back and thank Jesus and go on his way, instead he worshiped Jesus and gave Him thanks.
- Not only did Jesus heal the Samaritan physically, but now, seeing his faith – Jesus indicates a spiritual healing as well by saying, “Your faith has made you well.”
Whether we are seeing Jesus for the first time or whether we have known Him all of our lives, we must give God the praise He is due. To do this we means paying attention. When we ask God for something or to do something – and when we see that He has done that which we have asked – we should take time to stop and acknowledge His work/answer. I believe, by Jesus’ response, to do otherwise is to notably offensive to God/Jesus.
Faith is the Victory
To acknowledge what God has done is to speak our faith to Him. It is to say more than thank you – it is to acknowledge our faith/belief in what He has done and to acknowledge that He has heard us.
Response to God’s Word
Father. You are worthy of our praise, worthy of worship!Help us to never be so busy or caught up with ourselves or the world around us that we fail to turn or look up and worship You for what You’ve done. May we always acknowledge the gifts and healing from Your hands – not just to You but to others that they might know Your power, Your goodness, and your mercy.
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