I Am Thankful That Jesus Came My Way.

By Greg Sanders

Happy Thanksgiving! We all have so much to be thankful to God for. Today I am thankful for the people, the parents, and the pastors that God put in my path to show me Jesus. Jesus came my way disguised as people. I am so glad He did.

Luke 17: 11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[b] met him.

When this healed man began to recount his story years later, part of his story would have to be that he was glad Jesus came his way. Out of all the hundreds of villages He could have gone to that day, He chose the village where there were ten lepers who needed healing. Ten lives were changed because Jesus showed up. I am convinced that when Jesus walked the earth His journeys were not chance encounters, but rather they were strategic appointments. We know that in another time Jesus told His disciples that “I must go go through Samaria.” In Luke 17, He was going around Samaria, but there was another day when Jesus chose to go through Samaria. You may recall there was a woman drawing water from the well who needed to know that she could be made part of the family of God. On another occasion, Jesus got in a boat one day, sailed across the sea of galilee, healed a demon-possessed man, and then got back in the boat and went elsewhere. Why? It was a strategic appointment. Jesus went out of His way to go to him. Jesus went out of His way to come to these ten lepers and Jesus has gone out of His way to come to you.

God strategically showed up in these ten men’s lives to change them forever, but only one appreciated the gift that had been given him by the Lord. How often do we stop and thank Jesus for showing up in our lives? How often do we thank Him that He is showing up today?

Today’s Challenge: Take a time out and give Jesus thanks for the first time Jesus showed up in your life. Thank Him for the people He used to point you to Jesus and to demonstrate His love towards you. Finally, thank Jesus that He is still coming your way today. He is still showing up each time we pray and every time we call on His name.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Greg