You have to recognize the hand of God at work before you can worship Him for it!
When Jesus healed the 10 lepers, He wasn’t known as “Jesus, the Christ”, the Messiah, Emmanuel God With Us by the world. He was simply Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter’s son, a wise teacher, a man of some controversy who may or may not have magical powers to heal people. No one really understood who He was or what He had come to do- not even His own disciples, really! So, it’s no wonder that when the 10 lepers were healed, nine of them didn’t even bother to say thank you. Was it rude? Not to their way of thinking- they didn’t associate the miracle with anything Jesus had done!
They didn’t worship Jesus as the Lord. They didn’t know or believe Him to be a Savior. Even though Jesus had been the One who had healed them, they didn’t recognize His hand at work in their lives because their hearts had not acknowledged Him as Lord. They were blinded to His work in their lives because they had not fully submitted their hearts to His Lordship and as a result, they didn’t think to worship Him. How many times do you think that happens every day, all around you? How many things is the Lord working in your life that you forget to worship Him for, or simply don’t associate with His working because there were other components as well? For the lepers, Jesus didn’t lay hands on them- their miracle happened as they walked to the temple, so Jesus didn’t get the credit.
Even though Jesus had been the One who had healed them, they didn’t recognize His hand at work in their lives because their hearts had not acknowledged Him as Lord.
Those whose hearts are turned to Him, who are submitted to His Lordship, who have ears to hear and eyes to see will always have a reason to worship Jesus Christ. In bad times, in good times, in seasons of plenty and seasons of lack – even when you have to use your own human effort to help yourself, God is worthy to be praised! He has never left you. He fills your mind with ideas. He gives you favor among the godless. He paves a way for you in the wilderness. He opens the doors of a soup kitchen. He inspires a doctor to dig deeper. He sends a Christian with a word in season for you. He brings peace in the storm. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ- run to worship Him and fall down at His feet, as the one leper did. So few people realize the hand of God at work and fail to thank Him because of that. Yet, “your faith has made you well” as Jesus said.
Thought for today
Your faith changes everything- Jesus said that. For every one person who is falling before the feet of Jesus in worship, there are “nine” others who fail to recognize His hand at work. I’m talking about believers! No wonder people downplay worship, or think God isn’t working for them as much as He is for others. It’s a lie from Satan to try and disconnect you from the Spirit of God! Worship is your act of faith, just like it was for that one man, the only one who ran back to worship Jesus. Worship is one of those actions that are the proof of your faith- the action that shows that what you believe is true, even though you cannot see it. You can never, ever, ever, ever go wrong in worshipping Jesus every day, in every moment, for everything. If your footsteps are ordered by the Lord (Psalm 37:23-24), then your life is not random or coincidental. Your life is intentional and deliberately blessed. Worship God! And your faith will continue to make all things well. Amen!
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