DAILY ENCOUNTER

GOD EXPECTS THANKSGIVING

"Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?" Luke 17:17

Glory to God! It is a new month, the ninth month of the year. Let us take extensive time to give God praise today. Hallelujah! As we step into September, it is easy to think about the things we prayed for that have not yet happened during the first eight months of the year. However, if we are thoughtful enough to look beyond what is missing, we will discover countless reasons to be thankful. Maintaining a heart of gratitude before God is non-negotiable in the kingdom if we desire to experience the fullness of what He has made available to us. Thanksgiving is more than saying, "Thank You, Lord." It is an attitude of the heart that recognises God's goodness and takes note of His faithfulness towards us even when everything we desire has not yet manifested. Our opening Scripture comes from the story of the ten lepers who encountered Jesus. As Jesus entered a certain village, ten men who were suffering from leprosy stood at a distance and cried out, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." Jesus instructed them to go and show themselves to the priests. As they obeyed His instruction, something remarkable happened: "As they went, they were cleansed" (Luke 17:14). All ten received healing, but only one returned to Jesus to give thanks. He came back glorifying God with a loud voice, fell at Jesus' feet, and thanked Him. Then Jesus asked, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?" This question reveals something powerful about Thanksgiving: God notices when we are grateful, and He also notices when we are not. As a matter of fact, He expects our gratitude. All ten experienced the miracle, but only one returned to the Miracle Worker. The nine were cleansed, but the one who returned received something more. Jesus said to him, "Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole" (Luke 17:19). 

There is a difference between being healed and being made whole. Healing stops the disease or removes the symptom. But wholeness speaks of total restoration and completeness, like the damage never happened. The ten were cleansed, but the one who returned in thanksgiving was declared whole. Thanksgiving causes us to experience the fullness of God's work in our lives. The tragedy of the nine was not that they were ungrateful because they did not appreciate the miracle at all, but they were forgetful. Perhaps they were simply too excited about what had happened that they forgot the one who healed them. They had received what they wanted and moved on. Yet, in their pursuit of the blessing, they failed to return to the Blesser. This can also happen to many believers. We can be so forgetful of what God has done while focusing on what He has not done. We can count unanswered prayers while overlooking answered ones or even the things He did that we didn't pray for. God expects thanksgiving from us. We can complain about the previous eight months, or we can choose to celebrate the fact that God kept us through those months. We can focus on the doors that did not open or be grateful for the doors God opened and the one He shut for our own good. We can become so occupied with our expectations, or we can release our expectations in thanksgiving to God this month. September should not begin with complaints about January through August. It should begin with thanksgiving and continue in thanksgiving. Sometimes, we are waiting for another miracle when God is waiting for us to recognise the miracles we have already received. Be thankful today. Hallelujah!!!

FURTHER STUDY

1 Thessalonians 5:18; Psalm 103:2–5; Philippians 4:6–7

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. What has God done for me in the first eight months of this year that I may have forgotten to sincerely thank Him for?
  2. Am I more focused on what I am waiting for God to do, or am I intentionally recognising and celebrating what He has already done?

PRAYERS
Father, I thank You for Your faithfulness throughout the first eight months of this year. I choose to remember Your goodness and every blessing You have brought into my life. Thank You for every answered prayer, every open door and every battle You have fought for me. I will continually give You praise, and my life will be a testimony of Your goodness in Jesus's name

Comments

  1. Favour SalamiSeptember 1, 2026 at 8:52 AM

    Father I thank you for all you have done for me the whole of me is grateful Lord🙌

    ReplyDelete
  2. Q-miSeptember 1, 2026 at 8:57 AM

    Thank you Lord🙏

    ReplyDelete

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