*Mondays with Megan is a series of short devotionals to help us focus our hearts, souls, minds, and strength on the Giver of Life for the week ahead.*
Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[b] 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. 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—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17).
Read that again. Go ahead. It’ll take you all of 38 seconds.
Now, hear me out:
When we are desperate and in need of healing, it is one of the most difficult things to walk in faith. There was a season in my life where I was buried so deep in the pit I could see nothing but darkness. Good, well-meaning, loving, caring, Christian friends would say things like “cling to Jesus, Megan,” or “go ahead and run to Jesus.” My depressed mind would say, “WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!” while my mouth would utter, “you’re so right. Thank you.”
Are you sick today? ..in your body, mind, soul, or heart?
Are you broken? Wounded? In need of some healing?
The truth we can absolutely know from the story of the Lepers is this:
We cannot wait until the problems are over to start walking in faith. The story says, “and as they went, they were cleansed.”
There was MOVEMENT on their part before there was a miracle.
Wait, Megan, you can’t say that… that’s so dangerous for people to read.
LOOK AT THE STORY, YA’LL. I didn’t make this up.
But look closer, how did this healing start in the first place? They called out to Jesus. “Jesus, Master, have pity on us…” They recognized Jesus for who He was, and called out to Him for their healing – not anything else.
They used the term Master, signifying His Holiness and Divinity over their lives.
They, wait for it, t r u s t e d him for their healing and then began the moving.
Are you trusting God for your heart’s healing today?
We cannot put conditions on holy God. We cannot say, “Lord, as soon as there’s enough money or time or when I get what I want, I follow your instructions.” We cannot pray, “Lord, if you’ll just solve this issue in my family, I’ll start to serve, I’ll feel better, I’ll be kinder….” Instead, what we know from this story is that God places a demand for faith on us, before anything at all has changed.
God might say, “Love me despite the pain. Obey me despite the lack of talent, or the lack of resources. Follow me now, despite the depression. Say no to the temptation, while it still is difficult. Praise me in the darkest of nights, and in the worst of circumstances.”
This is the nature of God, a God who loves us so much He’ll give us the opportunity to be thankful when nothing about our circumstances gives us that motivation.
That is the very definition of faith. If we praised God only on the good days, only in the best of circumstances, it would not be faith at all. That would be more like a business arrangement – and this life with a miraculous God is not about business!
Some of you are in horrible circumstances, right now. And what awaits you today, this week, is a forcing of the question. Will you be thankful despite the difficult circumstances? If so, you will have experienced faith.
If you’re sick, broken, hurting, desperate, and in need of healing, here’s what I can offer you as a way of forward movement today:
- Choose to say “Thank you, God for this (insert situation here) which I am experiencing, teach me more about You in it.” (it’s hard to get your heart to mean this, but it’ll catch up to your mouth eventually – I promise).
- Do SOMETHING about it. Anything! Take one step forward to get out of the space you’re in today to make a better tomorrow.
Remember our friends, the Lepers?
There was movement on their part before there was a miracle.
WHY? Because they trusted Jesus for their healing first.
What movement will you make toward wellness today?
Choose forward motion. Choose healing. Choose Jesus.
He has already chosen you.