Daily Devotional | From Grateful to Thankful

“Don’t forget to say ‘thank you.’” If you are like me, your parents said this to you often as a child. And maybe you’ve given this advice to children. But, if we are honest with ourselves, even adults, and yes, even Christians sometimes forget to express gratitude and appreciation.

In our text today, Jesus and His followers were on their way to Jerusalem, for the last time, to celebrate one of the Passover traditions (v. 11). We don’t know exactly which village Jesus entered, but we do know who was waiting for Him: a group of men with a horrible skin disease called leprosy (v. 12). By law, people with leprosy were forced to isolate, leaving their family, friends, job, to live with others who suffered from a similar disease.

When Jesus passed by, these suffering people recognized their chance to get help. So together they cried out to Jesus (v. 13). Jesus responded by telling them to go see the priest who had authority to allow them to rejoin society (v. 14). On their way, they were miraculously healed! But then something even more remarkable took place. One man, the Samaritan, paused, and before seeing the priest, turned back to Jesus to say “thank you” (v. 15).

Upon seeing him, Jesus asked, “Where are the other nine?” (v. 17). Were the others grateful for their second chance? Of course, they were grateful, each one of these people had experienced a life-altering miracle. But for one person, gratefulness turned into an expression of thankfulness. Being grateful is an emotion we feel but being thankful is an action we can take. If you have ever been given a second chance, make sure you pause and turn your “grateful” into “thankful.” 

>> To whom do you need to express your thankfulness today? Make your thankfulness personal and let them know how much you appreciate them.