BLESSINGS OF GRATITUDE

MEMORISE: ‘Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, And make a joyful noise unto Him with psalm.’ (Ps 95:2)
READ: Luke 17:11-19

God lavishes blessings on his children every day. And, just like any natural parent, He expects them to appreciate His kind gestures. Believers today take many of God’s blessings for granted. We assume that when we sleep, we must wake up, or when we are sick, we shall be healed. We feel God is obligated to be our bodyguard and to shelter us from all attacks and the plans of our enemies. We also believe that God will continue to be nice to us no matter what we do! How wrong!

In the story of the ten lepers, they were all healed as they obeyed Christ’s instruction. Nine of them (Jews) realized this and ran home excitedly. The tenth, a Samaritan, returned to thank Jesus for showing him mercy. From our text we learn that God expects us to show appreciation for each blessing He gives us. Jesus asked: ‘Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?’ In any area you have failed to appreciate God’s kindness, you become a debtor. Pay your thanksgiving debts today so that it does not count against you tomorrow.

It is an irony that it was a stranger – the Samaritan – who returned to thank our Lord. Even today, unbelievers know how to celebrate a good deed attributed to their idols. Come and see them dancing and sacrificing animals in the process. On the other hand, believers, having just had a great deliverance, breakthrough, victory or major blessing in one area or another, come into God’s presence with no excitement and an air of, ‘I am here only to fulfill all righteousness.’ On thanks-giving day, they will drop peanuts in the offerings, as if God is begging for money. We ought to learn the art of thanksgiving from the heathen.

Appreciating God entails testifying boldly to God’s glory for what He has done; worshipping at His feet in total surrender to His will; and thanking Him right from the heart. The ten lepers were healed, but only the Samaritan who returned to thank Jesus had all the parts of his body that had been eaten away, restored. Through thanksgiving, your blessings can be made permanent and you can experience restoration. Let the next thanksgiving Sunday be different. Beyond this, daily live a life of gratitude to God. Please begin to thank God for past mercies and blessings, itemizing them one by one.

ACTION POINT
Spend at least one hour today, thanking God
for past and present mercies.