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Thankfulness
Come with me to Jericho.
At the side of the road sits a blind man begging.
A multitude of people are passing by and the blind man asks what the commotion means.
And so our story begins:
Luke 18:35-43 NKJV
35 Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. 36 And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. 37 So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. 38 And he cried out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
39 Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
40 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, 41 saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”
42 Then Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
Do you marvel as I did the first time I read this account of the healing of the blind man, that Jesus asks him what he wants Jesus to do for him?
One might think that it would be obvious, yet Jesus has the man speak the words that he wants to receive his sight.
How many of us are content not seeing the things around us that would cause us to again participate in the living fully of our lives. Back to seeing, thus back to work as it were. Do we want to stop a life half lived, begging, or do we want to be back at the helm and helping others. Sometimes, the obvious is not always the given answer.
We get caught in our rut and become comfortable with it.
This man however, did indeed want to see and get back into the living of his life. When he realizes the gift of sight has been given to him and with it a full life, he immediately follows Jesus and praises God. Likewise, all those people around who see the miracle also give praise to God.
This is the perfection of healing.
Not only is the suffering one healed but he immediately begins praising God and so do the others around him. His thankfulness is seen and touches the hearts of those who are near him. The ripples of thankfulness begin to spread.
Paul tells us this about thankfulness. We are to rejoice and pray. Happily talk to God and in EVERYTHING thank God. Thank Him for everything and pray without stopping. Thank Him for the good and thank Him for the difficult. Don’t stop. This thanksgiving is, in fact, the will of God in Christ for us all.
When we receive our “sight” make sure that we continue to use it by looking always at Jesus, our perfect example. Keep our eyes ever after on HIM.
Christ wants His joy to be in us.
His JOY is poured into us and we carry His light.
As His LIGHT-BEARER, you will be used to make a difference.
He wants us to stay in fellowship with God through prayer and daily connection and He wants us always to realize all that God does for us and to thank Him for it. Thankfulness is a vital element of true LIVING. Thus we read:
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
When we are spiritually made alive our eyes are opened as well. We are no longer blind but are aware of all that God has for us to see and do.
Hebrews 12:2 says we are to be “Looking unto Jesus.” If we keep our eyes on Him, we will see all that truly matters in this life and thankfulness will well up within us and overflow upon those around us.
God wants us to be fully alive, to rejoice, to pray, and to thank Him.
He knows these elements of life are vital. Perhaps, you too have been sitting by the roadway too long, with our spirits blind to all that God has for us. Maybe, our hearts have been mournful instead of filled with joy and our prayer life has closed down.
Jesus is still passing by you. Ask Him that you too want to receive your sight.
And when He gives you sight, because He WILL give you sight, THANK HIM with all of your heart, and spend all of your remaining days “Looking unto Jesus.”
Let His light and love flow through you to make a difference in this world.
You will be so glad you did.