Where are the Nine?
December 10, 2021
The corridor was enamoring with warm lighting and hued, fabulous decorum. It was quite a trek from the entrance then around the corners, but walking to the suite wasn't hurried for Morshem. It could have easily been too much for someone who had only been walking again for a few short weeks, but no matter the protest, Jana could in no way persuade her husband to sit in a wheelchair. Morshem indulged every single step, sometimes even counting them out loud. Entering the main door, Jana watched him straighten his back, square his shoulders, and button his suit coat like a man with the victory from the fight. She had always been smitten with this strong but gentle, fine, amazing man of hers. But this was a fight that would change a man for better or worse, and she had never been more in love with her husband than she was this moment, savoring his gratitude and hearing him exhale, "one", "two", "three", with every lift and settling of his shoes.
Tonight's banquet was a miracle. Morshem nor any of the others were expected to survive the crash. His spinal damage should have been irreversible, but field doctors broke protocol to perform impossible surgeries under unlikely conditions right there in the rubble. Some of his fellow survivors never RSVP'd for tonight. What could be more pressing? But Morshem was here. In fact, Morshem couldn't fathom not being here with all of the strength he could muster, he was determined to walk this hallway.
(c) - All material copyrighted and not available for duplication.
Where are the Nine?
By Tracey Cannon
Just a few Sundays ago I was ministering about God's restoration; I know the enormous resuscitation that comes from God personally fulfilling His word. Recently, I let His promise and His blessings marinate in my spirit again, and it wasn't long before I was in a place of humble, tearful worship. I get David, when he wrote in Psalm 35:28, "And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long." All the day -- not just during beautiful moments. I must say, that my praise to Him has been equally adoring when my praise was all that I had. If we, nearly any one of us, rehearse just the past two years, our survival, strength, provision, we would certainly relate to Morshem's counting every time he lifts and lowers his feet. As grateful as he was, and as Jana's admiration notes, despite the survivors who didn't come, Morshem was present with thanksgiving.
Luke 17:12-19 tells of a band of men in desperate need of God. Certainly to be cleansed from the horror of leprosy, but equally desperate to leave the colony of rejection they'd been cast aside to live in. Just as Jesus entered the village -- imagine just that by itself for a minute -- Jesus entered the village! -- and was met by the ten lepers, crying out, "Jesus, Master", have mercy on us."
Of course you know the standard protocol for lepers to be released from quarantine and allowed to re-enter society, was that they must first be cleansed. Then, only after fully manifested evidence, could they visit the priest for confirmation of deliverance. That was normal, but this was Jesus who, unbound by men's boundaries, sent them straight to the priests because His instructions alone mean they were healed. Just as the surgeons did in the field for Morshem, because they were the experts they performed unorthodox surgery and I would imagine, even with less than ideal instruments at hand. Jesus had the authority to say, "go and show yourselves to the priests." Just that simply and unfettered, the Word of God would heal them as they went, and would manifest by the time they reached their destination. Ten men, in anxious desperation for normal life, set out for the priests. All had been leprous, all had been rejected, all had been quarantined and cast out, but nine said nothing.
The one leper who turned back, counting gratefulness to be more valuable than getting back to normal, than being validated by man, than returning to family, came back to praise the Lord! Here I am Lord, to say thank you! Here I am Lord, to show my gratitude! If you say I'll be validated by the time I get to the priests, I believe you and that can wait... right now I just want to thank you! Not only are you Lord, you are Master enough to do it! So since you said go, I know I'm healed, but I want to say thank you! My family will be there when I get there, they can wait a little while longer. I am no longer rejected, no longer quarantined, no longer unclean! I just want to thank you!
Jesus asked the question, "Weren't ten cleansed? Where are the nine?" I can almost imagine the only leper who fell on his face at Jesus' feet saying, "Lord I don't have their addresses. I can't account for their shameful behavior, but here I am at your feet! I'm here to worship you for your mighty act in my life! I'm here to bless your name before I take another step toward home. I am here to give you glory and honor! They were healed, but you have made me WHOLE! Bless the name of the Lord!
You see, verse 19 reads, And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” Now He certainly could have said, "your faith has cleansed your leprosy." But instead, Jesus spoke to everything that needed to be well. The nine had to be healed from the disease because Jesus had spoken it. When they reached their destination they were cleared no doubt by the priests. It was impossible for them to remain leprous. But this one. This one was told to rise. This one was validated by God! The others had new pigment, but this one had wellness from everything that had him bound!
As for you, your wholeness isn't among the nine, it is in your gratitude and faith toward God. Let His goodness marinate in your spirit until you are bursting with thankfulness, and receive everything you need from God. It might seem that others get back to normal and have their desires fulfilled, but even if you alone are grateful, when you fall at the feet of Jesus, you receive the best of God.
