Put Your Faith to Work (3)

'...Your faith has made you well.' Luke 17:19 NKJV

Good Morning,
It doesn't get any better than 50 some degrees in December. I was reading out Psalms this morning in 130:5 "I wait for the Lord my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope". That reading so encouraged me and lifted my faith today. It is through His word that we see the promises He has for us to believe, to lift our faith. Luke records something special about faith: 'As He...passed through...Samaria...there met Him ten...lepers, who... lifted up their voices and said, 'Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!' So when He saw them, He said...'Go, show yourselves to the priests.' And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.' (Luke 17:11-14 NKJV) In Christ's day lepers were social outcasts, so they lived together in a colony. But the problem is, you can't get well hanging around people who are as messed up as you are. That's why you need to bring the problem to Jesus. Notice the words, 'He passed through.' Jesus didn't go to the leper colony, He was just passing through. What do you do when you're losing your life, your family, your joy, your finances etc, and Jesus doesn't seem to be looking in your direction? You can get frustrated when it feels like He's blessing everybody but you, and wonder, 'Lord, when is my turn coming? I've served You faithfully, yet it seems like everybody else is the object of Your attention.' It's time to cry out, 'Jesus, have mercy on me!' Away with dignity and decorum, desperate people pray desperate prayers and God responds to their prayers. Notice, when Jesus was passing by these lepers they did not shout, 'Unclean,' as the law required. No, they broke protocol. When you're in a bad situation, sometimes you have to break out in order to break through. You've got to do what David did: 'I cried to the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill.' (Psalm 3:4 NJKV) Come on, if you want an answer, put your faith to work!