“While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. And as He entered a village, ten men with leprosy who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed. Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. But Jesus responded and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they?” (Luke 17:11-17 NASB)
I got up just a little before midnight last night, the time where some are resting peacefully, and others are involved in that restless fight between the mental desire to sleep and the physical portion of your being’s desire to stay awake. When I went to bed, less than three hours ago, I had planned to write on the subject, “All Church Things Don’t Happen In Church.” However that was apparently not to be. Perhaps, Lord willing, I can write about that Thursday morning.
You see, my topic was changed as the Holy Spirit took charge. He reminded me of a thank you message that my wife received and shared with me Tuesday afternoon, sent from a woman who had been blessed with a Thanksgiving food package from our church, way back in the Fall. There were many others who were blessed the same way, but this woman took the time to “come back” from the month of November, to the middle of January to express her gratefulness. But like the one leper in the text above, she was “the one.” And just like the thankful leper that Luke describes received some additional blessings, this woman who sent the message received some other blessings too. She was added to the prayer list of many saints; a blessing. She will be invited to receive our daily meditations; a blessing. She was told not to forget our church when she was in dire needs or was desperate for supportive prayers.
The Holy Spirit is still working. After thinking about the woman who came back, I thought I needed to do some thanking. Thank you for receiving, reading, reflecting, and responding to these daily meditations. Knowing that you continue to regard them as meaningful and worth reading, provides me with additional blessings. One of them being motivated to keep on being faithful in this aspect of my ministry. Another being that every week I expand the readership and reach more people to minister to in the universal church. Again, thank you! Thank you from not just the bottom of my heart, but thank you from my whole heart.
Don’t stop reading for the Holy Spirit is not done! There is more to share. You see, the specific message that God is sending you this morning is that “You ought to be the one!’ You ought to be the one – who comes back to heaven’s throne and thanks the Lord for all the blessings you never took the time to specifically thank Him. You ought to be the one – to thank Him for strengthening you through your struggles and sustaining you through your storms. You ought to be the one – who expresses thanksgiving for God intervening in your life more than once and really, more times than you really realize. You ought to be the one – who thanks Him because things are not as bad as they could be! You ought to be the one – to thank Him for all the healings He had done for you physically, emotionally, and spiritually! You ought to be the one – to thank Him for caregivers or the blessed opportunity to be the caregiver! You ought to be the one – to thank Him for His mercies that are new every day! You ought to be the one – that gives thanks to Him for every time that He gave you or shall give you joy in the morning after your nighttime of suffering! You ought to be the one – to thank Him that in every challenge that confronts you, you can confidently declare, “I’m not in this thing alone! I can make it!” You ought to be the one – to thank Him that nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus! Thank Him that all things work together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose! Thank Him for His forgiveness and forgetting of our past sins. Thank Him for the comfort that He gives beyond comprehension. Thank Him for His peace! You ought to be the one – who comes back and says thank you! And definitely be sure to thank Him for Jesus, our rock in a weary land, our way, our hope, our life, our redeemer who paid for our sins on the cross where He died for us while we were yet sinners! You ought to be the one to say thank you! Yes, it is true what the older saints say, “I just can’t thank Him enough for all He has done for me!” That’s true for you me and that’s true for you too! You ought to be the one! Go on now! Stop thinking and start thanking right now! Get your thanksgiving on! Yes! Yes! Yes! Be blessed!
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.” (Psalm 46:9-10 KJV)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King
These daily meditations can now be found on markwritesdaily.com.