Lord I just want to thank you

I know that its not Thanksgiving yet but I've learned that God loves a grateful heart. Time and time again God has brought us through man hard times and trials so I couldn't help but to post this in my blog. Luke 17:15-16 {Amplified version} says: 15 Then one of them, upon seeing that he was cured, turned back, [c]recognizing and thanking and praising God with a loud voice;
16 And he fell prostrate at Jesus' feet, thanking Him [over and over]. And he was a Samaritan.

Notice in this scripture that there were 10 lepers but only one of them had the presence of mind to thank God for the miracle that he had performed for them. As you may know, leprosy is considered a debilitating skin disease and once it becomes known that you suffer with this disease you are banished from your home and forced to live far away from other humans. So this was a MAJOR MIRACLE for them because there was no other cure for this disease. Sometimes God blesses us and we get so carried away with the miracle that we forget the miracle worker. I have learned especially recently how precious God is to me. I have found myself waking up to say, "thank you Lord".

As you all know, the economy is in decline and people are losing their jobs. If you still have a job to go to, you should thank God everyday because it could be the other way. You could be unemployed with kids and don't know how you're going to make ends meet. You could be homeless with no one to turn to, but GOD continues to unleash his mercy upon us. My husband and I have struggled lately financially but God never failed us. We have two kids and after we moved away from our family it was hard to adjust for a while but even through that, God continued to uphold us with his mighty hand. Look back at how you were before God saved you, I was a prostitute, alcoholic, pill popper, liar, cheater, mistress, etc...but God took me and made something beautiful out of my life. What has he done for you, that no one else could have done? We've got so much to thank God for.

One of the worse insults to God is mumbling, grumbling, and complaining. We've been on this earth long enough to realize that everything is not going to go our way. So it is our job, even in the midst of struggles, to remember what God has ALREADY DONE and thank him for that. Luke 17:19 {Amplified version} says: And He said to him, Get up and go on your way. Your faith (your trust and confidence that spring from your belief in God) has restored you to health. In other words, because you were thankful I'm going to give you something that the others won't get. Having a thankful heart makes you stand out among other Christians. I have met people who are basically saved complainers, the thing that gets me is the fact that they fail to understand that they are their own worse enemy. We have to realize that we're responsible for whether we get a breakthrough or not, what you say in bad times determines what you get. You will be amazed at how fast God comes to the rescue of a person with a grateful heart.

In closing, I have to say that I had to learn all of this stuff the hard way unfortunately. I used to be one of those movers and shakers who never had time to thank God for his blessings. When I became sick and confined to a wheelchair, it didn't take long for me to realize that I had taken God for granted. Since the Lord delivered me and even before he delivered me, I learned not to take God for granted. I pray that none of you don't make the same mistake I made. It's amazing how thankful you become after you lose everything. Don't wait until the well runs dry to be thankful. We have to learn to look at the big picture, if things don't go well for a few days don't get all bent out of shape. Just remember what storms he's already brought you through and be grateful and believe that if he did before, he'll do the same again. God is not going to forget us, God always comes through right on time. He is faithful you can rely on him, the question is can he rely on us.

Remain blessed