Only One Came Back

There’s a detail in the account of Luke chapter 17 verses 11 through 19 that caught my attention this year.  This section of scripture shares how Jesus healed 10 men who were standing at a distance crying out to Him to heal each of them from their leprosy.  Jesus instructed them to go and show themselves to the priests.  As they traveled towards the temple each of them were cured of their leprosy.  Verses 15 through 19 in the NLT translation continues to tell us that,

“One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, ‘Praise God!’  He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking Him for what He had done.  This man was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, ‘Didn’t I heal ten men?  Where are the other nine?  Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?’  And Jesus said to the man, ‘Stand up and go.  Your faith has healed you.’"

Did you catch that?  Out of a total of ten men that were healed, only one came back to give thanks to God.  Ouch… How many times have we received what we’ve begged God for only to move on to our next thing?

This is the time of year that thanksgiving and gratitude becomes commonplace and expected buzzwords.  In a world that constantly moves forward it’s such a healthy reminder for all of us to stop, pause and look back over our year.  There is so much gratitude that we can give back to God.  This doesn’t necessarily mean that our year has been perfect by any means.  Gratitude doesn’t have to mean that we dismiss or minimize any challenges that we might have had, but it does mean that we can reflect on how God carried us through even the hardest moments. 

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT  tells us to “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 

I do hope that you can carve out some time this season to reflect back to God all that you’re thankful to Him for.  It might be that you write out a few items of gratitude in a journal each day, or use an app (I like Orca).  Whatever approach is right for you, make it a point to pause and acknowledge God’s goodness that surrounds you.

In doing this you can be part of the story to show that you came back to God to give him your thanks and to give Him the glory. 

Don't let the year come to a close without taking the time to come back. Come back to remember. Come back to give thanks. Come back to give God the glory.

What are the top three things you’re grateful for this year?  Feel free to add them in the comments below to inspire others to take account too.