Luke records: "There met Him ten...lepers...they lifted up their voices and said, 'Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!'...He said to them, 'Go, show yourselves to the priests.' And...as they went, they were cleansed" (Lk 17:12-14 NKJV). Leprosy was a slow, painful death. First you lost your fingers and couldn't work, then you lost your toes and couldn't walk, then it attacked your internal organs. Every day you lost a little more of yourself. Here are five helpful insights from this story:
(1) If you feel like you're "losing yourself," turn to Jesus. He can restore what you've lost and give you back your peace and joy.
(2) "Lift up your voice." Away with dignity and decorum! Desperate people do desperate things. God promises: "You will...find me when you seek me with all your heart" (Jer 29:13 NIV).
(3) Whatever He tells you - do it. Don't lay down conditions to God. And don't seek an identical experience to somebody else. Jesus told the ten lepers, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." Why didn't He just speak to them or touch them like He did others? Don't question, obey! Faith doesn't demand explanations.
(4) Take a step of faith. Luke records, "As they went, they were cleansed." You've got to walk it out; each step brings you one step closer. But nothing happens till you take that first step of faith.
(5) Start praising God! Only one of the ten lepers returned to give thanks, and Jesus noticed it. You can go to God with confidence for your next answer, when you know you remembered to give Him thanks for your last one.
1 comment:
Leprosy starts from the outside,creeps in and consumes everything it its path until it takes its course. This process is slow and painful and take years. The enemy of our souls left unchecked has the same effect on our lives. 1) I agree, Jesus is the restorer of all things. 2) He will inhabit places of hunger and thirst. 3) Jesus did some pretty crazy things that certainly make me uncomfortable but they yielded results. 4) The faith I have today towers over the faith of yesterday. 5) There is nothing like praise, when God comes down and dwells with you, when He sits next to you, merges His Spirit into you and lets you know He is there. There is nothing like it on this earth. There really isn't.
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