CRY OUT, OBEY, AND THANK
As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”. He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.”[a] And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. (Luke 17:11-14 NLT).
- Cry out. Even though there was a sea of people and the lepers were far, they still cried out to Jesus as He was passing. He heard them, He heard those who interceded, that would cry out in the mornings before going to work, going to school. Even though Jesus is on his way somewhere, when he hears a young person or an adult, man or woman cry out to Him, He looks at them, has compassion and responds.
- Obey. Jesus told them to go show themselves to the priests. That makes no sense! But, they did not question it. The verse says, “as they went.” This means that the obeyed and took a step of faith, an action step. In other words, when they felt that they had to serve God, they did not question it, they simply obeyed. As you obey, God answers you. As they went, they were healed and cleansed of their leprosy.
- Be grateful. They saw that they were healed, felt free and said, “Wow, I feel free of my addiction, my marriage is restored and healed.” They all saw the miracle happen, but only one of them went back to Jesus. He didn’t go back to the bar, or where God had taken him out of. There are so many people in this world that God has forgiven and taken out of different bad places, but it is a shame that many don’t remember who healed and helped them.
One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” (Luke 17:15 NLT).
Think about it:
What situation are you going through that you need to start crying out to God for?
Has God asked you to do something that makes no sense?
In what area could you serve God for everything He has done in your life?
