One day, ten lepers came to Jesus for healing. They probably had been in their condition for a while. Leprosy during Jesus' time was not curable, and it was contagious. As a result, their families and friends would normally take them to an isolated place. They heard that Jesus could cure any sickness, so they decided to ask Him for mercy to heal them. Jesus then told them to show themselves to the priests, and as they were on their way to the priests, their leprosy disappeared—they were completely healed. One of them returned to Jesus and gave thanks and praise to Him, but the other nine lepers never returned to Jesus to thank Him (Luke 17:11-19).
Why does God want us to be thankful? The reason is that being thankful expresses our humbleness before Him. We acknowledge that every good thing that we have is a gift from Him. Our very life came from His sovereign hand. Every day God sustains the whole world, whether people believe in Him or not. He sends rain and changes the seasons to provide for our needs. This world cannot stand on its own without God allowing it to exist. Unthankfulness is the opposite of humbleness. It is all about us (self-centeredness). We feel we deserve everything; therefore, we do not appreciate God or others. We are so proud of ourselves that we only acknowledge our own accomplishments, but not others.
As children of God, God wants us to be thankful and show our appreciation to Him. God does not want us to be unthankful because He humbles the proud and lifts the humble. When we acknowledge God and His goodness to us, we appreciate Him more; thus, it leads us to worship and love Him. Let us protect our hearts from unthankfulness because it will only lead us to a wrong perception of who we are. But if we are always thankful, God will continue to bless our lives because we give back all the praise and worship to Him. If we truly want to experience God's goodness in our lives, we always need to be thankful.
Ask yourself these questions: Do I acknowledge God's goodness in my life? Do I believe that God sustains the world's existence every day? If so, do I appreciate Him?
Write down all the worries that you are facing today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Father in Heaven, thank you for your goodness in my life. The world exists because you are in control. Thank you for this brand new day that you have provided for me so that I can live another day in this world. Please help me to be thankful always and appreciate you every day. Please help me now with (mention your prayer requests). In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.