Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner? Luke 17:18.

I could understand many things in our chapter, Job 29. Job laments what he had that is now lost. He begins so well giving all to God. How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone on my head and by his light I walked through darkness! v. 2, 3. A beautiful verse. And then Job talks about the praise he received from others that he wants back. When I went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square, the young men saw me and stepped aside and the old men rose to their feet…I put on righteousness as my clothing…When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them…v. 7, 8, 14, 24. I don’t know about you, but that speaks of pride that would bring me down to ruin. I can’t handle that kind of pride and yet it lives in me in smaller measure. Right after reading our chapter, I read The Chosen 40 Days With Jesus Book Three Day 35. It began quoting Luke 17:11-19. Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem when ten lepers met Him at a distance crying out for mercy. Jesus said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, as Jesus told them to, they were cleansed. Can you imagine? One seeing he was cleansed returned to fall at Jesus’s feet praising Him. A Samaritan. Jesus’s response? Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your own way; your faith has made you well.” Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner? I love further in the devotional when it expounded and said…Oh, to be like the man who ran back to Jesus, the one whose suffering served its purpose because it lead him to the Savior. When Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well,” He wasn’t referring to the man’s body because all the men were cleansed of their leprosy on the road to Jerusalem that day. No Jesus was talking about his heart and the healing that matters unto eternity. The healing that frees us from the vicious condition of sin and death. The healing that eradicates distance, granting us intimate and permanent access to our Maker. The healing that, while perhaps not always our most immediate desire, fast becomes our greatest treasure, our deepest relief, and our highest hope.

Can you imagine if every one of us, instead of wanting praise from men, wanted to give praise to our Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit? The Disciples were a lot like Job in their desire for the praise of men and what did Jesus tell them? What did our Creator tell His Disciples? You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Matthew 20:25-28. 

What lessons are we learning in our life? Lessons from Scripture, lessons from the actions of others, lessons from our own hearts good and bad. At any point in our lives, wherever we are in our life of learning, give praise to our Creator God. He alone is worthy. He alone loves us. He alone shows us a better way. Our choice. By His light we walk through darkness! Choose Him…He’s here always.