563 One Out of Ten

Has God been faithful to you? Do you have anything in your life as a direct result of his hand of mercy and grace over you? Does he know how you feel about it? Seriously, does God KNOW you’re grateful? Have you told him? Luke 17: 11-19 tells the story of Jesus encountering 10 men with leprosy. Of course Jesus does what Jesus does … he heals them. But what we need to remember is HOW he healed them and WHAT happened afterwards. “On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus was going into a village where 10 men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.” There’s more to the story, but let’s stop right here. Did you hear that … AS THEY WENT, they were cleansed. It was their act of faith in simply going in the direction Jesus told them to go. On their way, they were healed. It’s not so much about our arrival to a specific destination in life, Jesus just wants us to go the right direction in obedience. And when we do, things change. Yes, our problems are often solved ON THE WAY when we turn and go where God wants us to go. We have become so destination focused. “God, where do you want me to work?” “God, where exactly do you want me to be in 5 more years because I feel like I need to map this all out.” Maybe God isn’t so much about the destination but the direction. What if our prayers became more about “God, help me to go in the right direction.” What if we were to release our incessant need to know how this is all going to work out and when exactly it will happen, and instead have a desire to simply be going in the right direction. AS THEY WENT, THEY WERE HEALED. The lives of the lepers radically changed when they simply pointed in the right direction and started going. Scripture doesn’t even say they ever made it to their destination of meeting with the priests. It was their act of obedience to turn in the right direction that brought their answers. These were outcasts with a highly contagious disease. (Sounds oddly familiar today doesn’t it? Girl, don’t go to Wal-Mart if you have the fever!) These lepers were supposed to hide on the outskirts of town while their limbs rotted off from this horrible disease. They were seeking Jesus for healing. Imagine their disappointment when his only answer was “go over there.” Have you ever asked God for help, and received an answer you didn’t like? I once felt under attack by people who wanted to destroy me. I prayed and God told me he would defend me, don’t fight back. That’s totally not the answer I wanted. I wanted to fight back with a vengeance. I wanted to be proven right. His answer was one I didn’t like. Do you ever get those kind of answers? Answers that don’t seem to fix anything or make any sense. That’s exactly what these lepers received. An answer anyone could have told them. Just go see the priest. That’s like the answer of “just pray about it.” NO DANG IT, I WANT YOU TO FIX THIS! Have we forgotten what faith really looks like? It doesn’t require faith to do exactly what we feel like doing. It doesn’t require faith to follow proven steps. It doesn’t require faith for me to hop in my car and follow the directions of my GPS. I just follow the directions which are clearly taking me closer and closer to my destination. Faith is required when the evidence is against us, when it still doesn’t make sense. It’s a trust that GOD WILL MAKE IT RIGHT. Is that where you are right now? In this place where it still doesn’t make sense? Where you don’t see the way through this?