“And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. (Luke 17:15-16)
Dear People Who Keep Company with God,
Ten lepers approached Jesus outside a village, loudly pleading with Him to heal them. He told them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” They were all healed as they went. But only one came back to honor and thank Jesus. If you could ask the nine lepers who did not return if they were thankful, what do you think they would have said? You know they were very thankful they no longer had leprosy. Jesus questioned it, “Were not ten cured? Where are the other nine?” He asked not because He needed their thanks, but because honor and thanksgiving are powerful forces in the spirit realm. They make way for the Holy Spirit’s greater works in our lives. Notice what Jesus told the one leper who came back to thank Him. “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you whole.” (Luke 17:19) The word whole indicates that Jesus gave him something more than physical healing alone: salvation. To be whole suggests mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health and restoration of losses.
Imagine the stigma, abuse and low self-esteem that a leper experienced during the time of Jesus. They were known as “unclean” and the “untouchables.” They were banned from society and lived like beggars. When they came in contact with non-lepers, they covered their upper lip so not to expose others to their breath and shouted “unclean, unclean” so no one would come near them (Leviticus 13:45). The one leper that came back and fell at Jesus’ feet thanking Him was freed from the indignities, the psychological, emotional and spiritual trauma that he suffered as a leper. He may have had body parts, bones, skin, and muscle that leprosy had eaten away fully restored. And in the process of time, all the losses of relationships, dreams, and finances would have been restored too. God’s dream for you is not just healing or blessings, but wholeness.
Years ago, the Holy Spirit gave me a very simple, but a life-changing revelation: your mind is the doorway to the supernatural; honor and thankfulness keep the door open. “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. “(Romans 1:21) These are people who had a relationship with Him, but they stopped honoring and thanking Him. And the results were devastation. The word speculation refers to your imagination, reasoning and thought. It is what goes on in your mind. When you stop honoring God and voicing your thankfulness, your thinking will regress and become vain, confused and twisted. What soon follows is a darkened heart, and that will lead to your desires and actions becoming darker and darker.
God does not want you to dutifully honor and thank Him as a formula or biblical principle to get more from Him. But He does want you to know how important it is for your own well-being. He desires a relationship with you built on mutual love, trust, and fidelity. Out of that relationship, honor, and thankfulness will spring up from your heart as the Holy Spirit’s power and grace work in and through you (Phil. 2:12-13). And like the leper who fell at Jesus’ feet, the door into your life will remain open to the Holy Spirit’s continued work to make you whole.
Many Blessings, BW