Luke 17:11-19 says, “It happened that as he made his way toward Jerusalem, he crossed over the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men, all lepers, met him. They kept their distance but raised their voices, calling out, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’

Taking a good look at them, he said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’

They went, and while still on their way, became clean. One of them, when he realized that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. He couldn’t thank him enough—and he was a Samaritan.

Jesus said, ‘Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?’ Then he said to him, ‘Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you.”’

One of the most important things you can do to stay connected to God, to bring Him glory, and to please Him is to have a grateful heart. There are few things more important to God than gratitude. I’ve been thinking about this—one of the greatest ways to give God the highest glory is to have a grateful heart.

Let’s look at one observation from Luke 17 about gratitude. Notice in verses 14b – 16 it says, “And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.”

Here’s the observation: Gratitude is never invisible or silent. Whether it is in our relationship with God or in our relationship with others—gratitude always shows up and speaks up. If we are truly grateful for what God has done in our lives, we will find a way to express it and we will find a way to demonstrate it.

I want to encourage you to never give yourself the excuse again to participate in silent gratitude because silent gratitude is really just a lost opportunity to give God praise! If you are grateful, you will show it and you will say it.

Challenge: Who is the one person who you need to pick up the phone and call to tell them how grateful you are for them? Who is the one person you need to write or e-mail? How will you demonstrate to them that you are grateful for all they do for you and what they mean to you?

I’ll be the first to step up to the challenge: I want to tell you how grateful I am that you are a part of the Blueprint community!

End of Year Donation

If you have been encouraged by reading the Blueprint for Life devotionals this year, please prayerfully consider making a charitable donation to the ministry.  Click here to give!