Leprosy was pretty much the worst disease you could have in Bible days. Having leprosy meant that you were unclean and unfit for society. You were separated from your family and friends without any hope for a cure. In addition to the physical pain associated with this disfiguring disease, lepers also suffered the emotional pain of feeling worthless, ashamed, and unloved.

In the passage today, we see this group of ten lepers come to Jesus desperate to be healed. Jesus responds to them in compassion, as we often see him do, but before he heals them, he gives them instructions. Jesus asks them to step out in faith and go present themselves to the priest for inspection as if they had already been healed. In addition to religious duties, the priest was also responsible for deeming them healed and giving them clearance to return to social life. The lepers did not question Jesus and headed out to see the priest. AS THEY WENT, they were cleansed of their leprosy. Jesus had the power to heal them immediately, but he chose to give the lepers the choice of obedience, which then leads to their healing.

When hardships come our way, we often cry out to God asking him to solve the problem. If we do not see the desired response immediately, we get impatient and either get angry with God because he is not answering, or we take the problem back and try to solve it on our own. However, I encourage you to stop and think of what we can possibly learn from the problem. Have you stopped and listened to what God is telling you? When you hear him, do you obey and take the action he is asking you to take? We may not always see God answer the way we want him to, but He tells us to trust him and lean not on our own understanding.

God speaks to all of us in different ways, and we are all called to obey. God is all powerful and all knowing. He could say the word and make everything better, but just as in the story of the lepers, He is also telling us to step out in faith, trust him, and obey.

Suggested prayer: Dear God, it is easy to ask you to answer our prayers, but many times it is not as easy to obey your instructions. Help me trust your will and obey despite how I feel, believing that your plans are perfect, even when they are not my plans. Give me wisdom to make good choices and act in obedience when you tell me to do so. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.

1. Luke 17:11-14 (NLT).

The Encounter for today was written by: Crystal B.