Faith and Praise

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
Luke 17 (click the link)


KEY VERSES:
11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:11-19, NIV)


THE GIST OF THE STORY:
Ten lepers cried out to Jesus asking for mercy.  He told them to go show themselves to the priests and they were healed along the way.  Only one of the ten returned to thank Jesus.


REFLECTIONS:
I see a trend in a lot of the miracles Jesus did and does.  It requires faith and often movement on our part before the healing occurs.  These lepers were told to “go” and they were healed ON THE WAY.  “Stand up and go, your faith has healed you.”

There was a similar incident in the Old Testament when Naaman goes to Elisha for healing from a skin disease—Elisha told him to go bathe in the river.  Naaman was mad, he thought Elisha should put his hands on him and heal him.  How often do we do that?  Put our expectations on how and when God should heal us?  

I believe God’s healing and freeing powers are every bit as available to us now as they were back in Jesus’ day.  I wonder if the handle, the limiting factor, to that power is our faith.

Only 1 of the 10 lepers returned to thank and to praise.  Ouch.  When things are going well, I can get complacent too.  


POINT OF ACTION AND PRAYER:
God please help me in my unbelief.  Give me the faith that opens the gate to your power to heal and to free.

Forgive me for my complacency.  I too often forget to say thank you and to give you praise.  Open my eyes to your provisions, healing and gifts.


WHO AM I?
Hi, I’m Cinda Brooks. This picture is how I see God’s power.  Our faith is the handle.  The power is there, but it takes faith to turn the handle for the power to flow.