Lent Devotion
March 31
The Thankful One
Luke 17:11-19 (NIV)
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[b] met him. They stood at a distance13 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.”
For years, I think one of the weakest aspects of my prayer life has been taking the time to thank God—especially for things that I had had no problem taking the time to ask Him for, earlier. And when I read this account of Jesus and the ten lepers, I know I’m one of the nine, not the one. I mean, it’s not that I don’t thank God for His blessings, but it’s usually a blanket prayer. I don’t always take the time to get specific.
And what’s interesting in this situation with Jesus and the lepers is that it’s a Samaritan who can’t help praising God loudly and coming back and thanking Jesus for making him whole. It’s implied that most, if not all, of the others were Jews, and didn’t make the effort to show their gratitude. Sometimes those of us who have the most to be thankful for are the worst at showing that gratitude, and I am chief among sinners.
In Celebrate Recovery we encourage people to keep a “Gratitude List.” When you think of things you’re grateful for, put them on the list and say a prayer of thanks, and then use that list as part of your prayers when you have your quiet time with God. And it does help; especially with most everyone having phones that make it easy to keep lists like this, and have them on hand all the time. If you haven’t tried this, it’s worth the effort.
Lent is a time for showing gratitude for the spiritual healing that God has provided in Christ. As we pray today, let’s make a special effort to show God how thankful we are for each blessing.