When Thanksgiving comes, I stop to evaluate my attitude of gratitude. Am I thankful for everything I have? Having gratitude makes me think about the story of the ten lepers from Luke 17:11-19. Having an attitude of gratitude for God and what He has done changes us.

Are you thankful for what you have? It’s easy to complain about a lot of things. Sometimes we aren’t grateful for what we have and we lament over things we don’t have. It seems to get worse around the holidays when the sales start. It brings the desire to have more and more instead of having gratitude for what we already have.

In Luke 17:11-19, Jesus cleansed ten lepers of their leprosy. He healed them! Out of those ten men, one came running back to Jesus and praised God in a loud voice for the healing he received. This man was a Samaritan.

In Bible times, people with leprosy were considered unclean by Jewish custom. People with leprosy were separated from other people, including their families. Furthermore, the Jewish people and Samaritans did not get along. But the one man to go back and praise God for his healing was a Samaritan.

Jesus says to the one man who comes back, “Your faith has made you well.” His faith certainly made him well physically, but did it also make him well spiritually? Did that man’s attitude of gratitude do more for him spiritually than just being healed?

There is something that happens inside us when we have a grateful heart. When we choose to be grateful, it helps us to be well spiritually. My kids and I have been listening to Rend Collective, Counting Every Blessing. When we count every blessing from God it causes us to have a heart of thankfulness.

I encourage you to also read Psalm 136, which is all about giving thanks to the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “...give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Despite all the challenges of 2020, do you have an attitude of gratitude?

“Helping you connect faith and life.”