How humbled are you by your blessings?

How grateful are you even in difficult times?

How consistent are you in your walk with Christ?

Songs like "Now Thank We All Our God," "Amazing Grace," "It is Well With My Soul," "Even If" and many others were bore out of tragic life experiences. I'm not sure if anything is harder than trusting God even when you can't hear Him or feel Him. Can you praise Him even if things don't turn out the way you prayed, hoped, or expected?

Last week, we examined the account found in Joshua where the priest had to first walk into the water's edge before the waters were backed up in a heap. This week, we are going to consider ten lepers who came to Jesus for healing. "Master, have mercy on us!" They pleaded. Jesus did not say, "Be healed, for your faith has made you whole." Instead, He said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." The Bible then says: "and so it was as they went, they were cleansed." They showed great faith in coming and even greater faith in their willingness to comply by going to the priest before one sore began to dry.

You see, the priests were the health inspectors. They had an eight-day process they put lepers through before one could receive a "clean bill of health" (by the way, that is where the statement originated). So, one did not go to the priests to be healed, but to be examined so they could prove they had been healed.

So, again, as we read: "as they went."

I am asking you to allow Christ to grow your faith so that in the worst of times, you can say it is well with your soul. I would love Sunday for every person there to say with Mercy Me, "Even if God doesn't answer my plea, I will praise the Lord" or with Joshua, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Sadly, in our account found in Luke 17:11-19, out of the ten lepers that were healed, only one returned and thanked the Lord for His blessing. Oddly, getting what you want is no guarantee of humility, gratitude or consistency.