15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God,
16 and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.
17 So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?
18 Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”
19 And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”
Luke 17:15-19
When Jesus cleansed the ten lepers, the only one who came back to thank Him, was not even a Jew; he was a Samaritan. The other nine who did not come back were Jews. They felt because they were Jews – God’s people, they deserved their healing. Even when you show gratitude to God, don’t say, “I deserve it; I confessed the Word; I gave, and so God gave back to me.” You may have confessed the Word; you may have given, but everything you receive is by God’s mercy and God’s grace.
You know, some of us think that we get the things we get only because we confessed the Word, and God heard us. No! When you get things you never knew you would get at a particular time of your life, let it move you to kneel down and say just as I often do about myself, “God, is it I, Charles? Is it me who was so poor that the poor called me poor? Is it me whose father could not rent a house even in a slum and we had to live in the market place where there was neither bathroom nor toilet? Is it I who went through all the wrong schools apart from my primary school that You have honoured like this? Is it I Lord?” Always look back and give Him praise, no one else deserves it.
Confession:
Thank You Father for Your mercy and Your grace. I confess to You that all I have received from You is by Your mercy and Your grace.