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Day Six: Praise Pleases Our Father One of my favorite Bible stories is about the ten lepers found in Luke 17. We are told how Jesus was traveling along the border between Samaria and Galilee, and right outside a village stood ten lepers who called out to Him. They knew He was someone important, or they wouldn’t have made their request, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” Jesus indeed took pity on them, and verse 14 tells us how He replied, “‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were cleansed.” The story tells us that only one, 10% of the ten lepers, “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 replied by asking a question, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” I don’t want to be like the nine lepers who quickly forgot Who healed them. I don’t want to get to the point where I expect blessings or, worse yet, overlook the blessings in my life because I’m so consumed with the difficulties. I want to be like the one leper who didn’t just enjoy the blessing given but came back and thanked Jesus for the blessing, praised Jesus for the blessing, and then went and told others about the blessing so they, too, could seek Jesus and experience blessings for themselves. I regret the years I spent living with an Eeyore perspective, losing my Tigger outlook, but I’m grateful God didn’t give up on me. He knew Tigger was still in there, somewhere, and I simply needed some encouragement to bring him back out. I’m thankful for the patience of my Sister in Christ to help me remember the importance of giving God praise first before laying my worries and cares at His feet, trusting Him to bring the best solution in His time. Does praising God come naturally to you, or do you have to work at remembering to see Him in all the blessings in your life? Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for all You do for us every day. Not only do You promise to protect us, provide for us, and never leave or forsake us, but You guide us when we surrender to Your way. Please help me to come alongside my sisters who need encouragement when feeling discouraged, support when feeling afraid, and love when feeling hopeless. Let Your love shine through me to reach them. In Jesus’ name, Amen