When Jesus healed the ten lepers; there were no words to describe how they must have felt. But what's so amazing, only one was filled with enough gratitude to return to Jesus to offer thanksgiving.
You would have thought that all ten would have been overwhelmed and overcome with gratitude of being healed of such a terrible disease. But only one returned and fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked Him for what He had done.
Luke 17:17-18
17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
Luke pointed out that that the only one who returned to thank Him was a Samaritan. An
"outsider," a Samaritan, took the time to return to Jesus and thank Him for this miracle. The Jews hated Samaritans and the animosity was so intense that the Jews refused to associate with them. That's what makes this story, as well as the Parable of the Good Samaritan, so powerful. This leper didn’t have any reason to expect a Jewish Rabbi to recognize him; much less, heal him of his leprosy!
But when he was healed; his first response was to turn around and go back and thank the Lord for making him whole. He was so overwhelmed with gratitude that he cried with a loud voice and glorified God. He fell on his face at the feet of Jesus and thanked Him.
Do you realize how few times the Bible records people thanking the Lord for the miracles He performed for them?
- There is no record of thanksgiving for turning the water into wine.
- There is no record of thanksgiving for feeding the five thousand.
- There is no record of thanksgiving for the calming the storm when the disciples despaired for their lives.
Other than this Samaritan; there is no record of anyone thanking Him for His miracles of healing.
When was the last time that you stopped to say,
"Thank You Lord for Your Blessings on Me?"
Paul knew the importance of gratitude:
1 Thessalonians 5:18
18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
The Amplified Bible says,
“Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus.”
The Contemporary English Version says,
“Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do.”
“Thank You” is seldom heard, rarely spoken, and often forgotten. In fact, 90% of all the lepers in this text showed no gratitude. They represent most people today; only one out of ten expressed thanksgiving.
Paul said that one of the characteristics of the last days would be a people who are
"unthankful".
The Old Hymn declares:
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav'nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
Praise God the Father who's the source;
Praise God the Son who is the course;
Praise God the Spirit who's the flow;
Praise God, our portion here below!
We must be careful that we don’t take on the spirit of this world, a spirit of entitlement. We must never forget that it is from God that all blessings flow. Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights.
According to research on stress; there are two attitudes, more than any others, that influence the quality of everyday life. These two emotions determine your peace of mind, feelings of insecurity, frustration and whether you will be successful in life.
They found that the most destructive emotion is
“revenge”.
But the emotion that affects us more than any other in the reduction of stress, is the feeling of gratitude. Thanksgiving is productive because it makes us forget our problems. It causes us to focus on the good things and positive things instead of the negative things. Even in the toughest of times we have so much to be thankful for.
