Devotion: An Attitude of Gratitude

by youthesource

on March 3, 2009

v 0

Read Luke 17:11-19

“One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.” Luke 17:15

What if you had a deadly disease?

And unfortunately, you do.

Would you expect Jesus to help?

Or would you praise Him as He healed you?

When ten lepers came to Jesus,

They hoped they would be cured.

For they had faith in Jesus Christ,

And of his power, they were assured.

Jesus had done the impossible,

And healed them from their disease.

But only one came back to Christ

While the nine stayed with the priest.

When the one came back, Jesus said,

“Where are the other nine?

Were not all ten cleansed

By my power, so divine?”

Yet only one man came back.

He was a foreigner, an outcast.

But this did not stop him from praising God

For he had a faith that would last..

Naturally, he praised Him

Because of what God had done.

God had saved him from his disease and sin

Through Jesus Christ, God’s only Son.

Are we not also saved from sin?

Yet where is our thanks and praise?

God has saved us from eternal death!

So we should thank Him all our days.

But often we act like those nine lepers

As we forget to give thanks too.

But God has given us everything,

So what are we to do?

We will naturally praise our God,

Just like the thankful leper’s attitude.

For God saved us from sin and death,

And He deserves our gratitude.

Just like the ten lepers, God has healed us from our disease–the disease of sin. But unfortunately, we often forget this saving gift from God. Instead, we become too concerned with the latest problems in our own life. So,similar to how the nine lepers acted, we fail to praise Him.

Still, that one leper came back to thank and praise Jesus. This good example encourages us to praise God today too. Jesus Christ has saved us from our sin and eternal death! Alleluia! Because of Christ’s death and the resurrection we do not have to be condemned to hell! Praise be to God!

With salvation so wonderful, we should naturally jump to our feet and praise God all day long for the many blessings that He provides for us every single day! Because God has healed us from the ugly burden of sin, we run back to our Father with praise flowing from our lips! For without God and the salvation He gives us, we would not have anything to be thankful for! The sole reason for why we praise God is because of what He has done for us.

What has God done for us? He has “saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). Through our Baptism, God cleanses us from our disease of sin each and every day! Even if we forget to show our praise to Him, God always wants to forgive us from our sin. Our natural response? “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Closing Prayer: Dear God, thank You for healing our disease of sin and saving us from death through the Holy Spirit at our baptism. Now, we can be cleansed every day through Your mighty power. We are sorry for all the times we may forget to thank You. Please forgive us for those times. Help us to always have an attitude of gratitude because of what You have done for us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

by Becky Chaplin, student at Lutheran High School North, Macomb, MI

Published March 3, 2009