Most of us this time of year are focused on thankfulness. If you are like me, your social media feed is crowded every day with people posting something they are thankful for in their life. While it is nice to see so many thankful posts, I also wonder if they are thankful the entire year or just during the month of November.
Imagine for a moment if just the people on your social media feed were as vocal about how thankful they are for their blessings all year long! I imagine that the effects of everyone being focused on their blessings would have a trickle-down effect on how everyone acted towards one another. Can’t you imagine how wonderful the world would be?
The Bible is full of verses on being thankful. One of the more notable stories about the importance of thankfulness is in Luke 17:11-19. It tells the story of Jesus healing ten men of leprosy. All ten men approached Jesus begging to be healed. Jesus showed the men mercy and healed them of the leprosy. Out of the ten healed, only one man chose to return to Jesus and show his thankfulness. “One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well.’” Luke 17: 15-19
I’ve often wondered what happened to the other 9 men. I’m sure they were thankful for being healed as well, but they chose not to return to Jesus to thank him for being healed. On down the road, it may have crossed their mind to turn around and express their thankfulness, but the Bible does not mention these men again. I hope they were thankful for the incredible gift they were given.
How many times in our life have we been “healed” of the afflictions in our life? Not merely physical afflictions, but also spiritual ones, financial struggles, hard times in our marriages, the disappointments in life…Have we thrown ourselves at Jesus’ feet and thanked him for healing our broken lives?
Showing thanks for blessings is of upmost importance. When you begin to show your appreciation and thankfulness, a peace will come over you and you will begin to find even more to be thankful for. Being thankful will rub off on the others around you as well. Seeing you aware of all your blessings forces others to look at their own life and thankfulness will abound.
This week’s recipe takes the flavors of Thanksgiving and lets you enjoy them in a healthy way. The best part of this Thanksgiving recipe is that you can enjoy it all year long!
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
April 19, 2024
