Luke 17:12-16
And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:  And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.  And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.  And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice, glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

These lepers stood afar off, on the fringes, begging for a miracle from a distance.  They could not draw near, but they could cry out and ask for mercy.  And Jesus is merciful to them, healing them as they go on their way.  Nine of them just keep going, content to take that miraculous blessing and go on with their lives.  But one turns back.  One chooses to draw near.  One willingly offers worship and praise to Jesus for what He had done for him.

The proper response to the blessings of God and His working in our lives is to turn toward Him with praise, thanksgiving, rejoicing, and worship.  The proper thing to do is to acknowledge Him as the giver of those blessings, the merciful God who has compassion on us, the one who is willing and able to take away what makes us broken or dirty or cast aside and then invites us to come unto Him.

The working of God in our lives, any touch of His upon us, big or small, warrants praise and rejoicing and worship.  The things that He does and the ways He provides are opportunities to turn toward Him, to offer Him the sacrifice of thanksgiving, to humble ourselves and simply be willing to give Him all the glory.  We can just go on our way, like those others who were healed, with no thought or regard for Jesus.  We can just take things for granted and refuse to give God His due.  But then we’re only left with the fruit an ungrateful heart produces instead of the rich fellowship and joy that we can have when we take time to praise the Lord.

May we not neglect to give God the glory for the great things He has done.  May we not remain afar off, but draw near with songs of praise, with grateful and humble hearts, with a desire just to honor our Lord for the difference He makes in our lives.  When He answers our prayers, when He shows us His mercy, when He blesses us in some special way, we have the privilege to bow at His feet and just say thank you to our gracious Lord.