October 10, 2025 • 17 mins
A man turns back to say thank you—and discovers a deeper kind of healing. That small pivot in Luke 17:11-19 launches a wide‑open conversation about gratitude as action, the difference between being cured and being made whole, and why a daily practice of thanks can change your chemistry, your relationships, and your resilience.
In this episode, Melissa and Bishop Wright have a conversation about gratitude. They discuss starting prayer with thanksgiving, naming three to ten blessings a day, and turning down the noise long enough to notice the quiet mercies that keep us afloat. Listen in for the full conversation.
Read For Faith, the companion devotional.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Bishop Wright (00:00):
So there's a miracle that you and I can
co-create with God each andevery day.
And that is our mental andphysical chemistry already
exists.
That if we put the emphasis ongratitude, then all the lights
flash and all the bells ring,and somehow uh God gave us all
those gifts, and now we'reco-creating with God a life of
(00:22):
gratitude, and it benefits notonly us, right?
But it benefits all the peoplethat we're around.
Welcome to For People withBishop Rob Wright.
I'm your host, Melissa Rau, andthis is a conversation inspired
(00:46):
by For Faith, a weekly devotionsent out every Friday.
You can find a link you canfind a link to this week's For
Faith and a link to subscribe inthe episode's description.
This week is number eight ofour We Believe series, and
Bishop is called this week's "WeBelieve That Gratitude Heals."
(01:10):
Yeah, Melissa.
So this this week is sort ofinstallment number eight.
It's we believe that gratitudeheals.
It's based on Luke 17, verses11 through 19.
Jesus healed ten lepers, butonly one returned to give thanks
and praises to God.
Now all ten lepers were healed,but Jesus decrees something
(01:32):
additional over the one thatreturns.
As this formerly chronicallyill man is thanking and praising
God for his new healing, Jesusinterrupts him and says, This go
on your way, your faith hasmade you well.
Apparently, then there are atleast two dimensions to faith
(01:54):
trust in God and thanks to God.
Apparently, there is a uniquewellness reserved only for the
grateful.
Melissa (02:05):
Okay.
So I have to say, I believethis too.
Bishop Wright (02:09):
Yeah.
Melissa (02:10):
I think practicing gratitude helps me keep things
in perspective.
Yet this one was hard for me alittle bit.
So I wouldn't challenge, I youknow.
Bishop Wright (02:19):
I love a good challenge.
Melissa (02:20):
Well, here's what it's like, who's to say that the
lepers who were healed, like all10 of them, like just because
the one came back, who's to saythe other nine weren't grateful?
Bishop Wright (02:32):
Yeah, well, we don't know that they're
grateful.
And in fact, it maybe even somepeople may read the story and
say that's a little unfairbecause Jesus tells them uh to
go on your way and show yourselfto the priests.
And maybe we'll just say thatthe other nine are really like
radically obedient, right?
So they go straight to thetemple, right?
I mean, so that's fair to say.
That's fair to say.
(02:52):
But but but even when you saythat, even if you tell the story
that way, it is remarkable,though, that this healing
penetrated this man's uh heartand soul so deeply that his feet
uh made a U-turn.
And uh and he had to go back.
So I I think that however we wesort of frame it up, it is
remarkable that he felt sograteful that his gratitude
(03:16):
became actions uh and words.
And I think that's what we liftup, really.
Yeah, maybe these fellas,there's no doubt these other
nine folks uh, you know, wererestored to the community.
Uh they were no longer, youknow, chronically ill.
Um, you know, they enjoyed newwell-being, you know, and were
now included in the family, soto speak.
(03:37):
I mean, they were not outcasts,they left the leper colony
behind and off they went.
Yeah, of course they probablyfelt like, wow, hallelujah.
Wasn't that phenomenal?
But again, I want to arguethere's something about going
back and saying thank you.
Melissa (03:52):
Yeah.
Bishop Wright (03:53):
Um, and forget what I say.
Um, Jesus seems to say, hesaid, he uses a different word
for him.
He says, is that, you know, uh,this man is so so overwhelmed
by gratitude that according tothe lesson, he's he's on his
hands and knees and he'sthanking God and praising the
Lord and all this sort of stuff.
Jesus sort of interrupts him,says, get up, right?
(04:14):
Your faith has made you well.
So he does this kind of thing.
So I I want to argue uh gently,maybe there's a there's a new
wellness or a separate wellnessthat this fella gets uh that the
other nine perhaps didn't get.
Um, but I I want to make, Iwant to argue, well, look, let's
(04:36):
think about it this way.
Uh uh a truckload of doctors uhand a boatload of psychologists
say that uh a people who uhlive a life that looks like it
is hateful, uh, looks like ithas gratitude, uh, looks like
there's an abiding thanksgivinguh to their lives.
(04:56):
Uh they have better physicaland psychological, mental,
emotional well-being, andoutcomes.
So there's something aboutthis.
Okay, so I'm gonna challengeone more thing.
(05:30):
Good.
So here's here's what I'mthinking.
So there's a big differencebetween God doing miracles and
us doing miracles.
Like I think God does themiracles through us.
And I think sometimes we expectthe people through whom we
might be healing or helping toheal, thank us.
And then if they don't thankus, then therefore they're not
(05:53):
grateful.
And yet, was it our miracle orwas it God's?
To whom is a person grateful?
Charged, I guess, to begrateful grateful toward.
Does that make sense?
Well, yeah, I think so.
Um, uh, you know, let's stick with the story.
Melissa (06:10):
Well, that's what I'm saying.
Like this guy, I mean, how dowe know that those people who
were healed weren't grateful toGod and just didn't turn around
to thank Jesus?
Bishop Wright (06:20):
Well, well, there we are.
So somehow their healing wasprecipitated by Jesus.
Melissa (06:26):
Yeah.
Bishop Wright (06:26):
So Jesus sort of some shows up in in close
proximity to their miracle,right?
So, I mean, if you want todebate that, we can debate that.
And I think it's a fair debate.
I I don't know.
I I just know that this onefella was really, he drew a
straight line between Jesus andhis healing.
Melissa (06:44):
Yeah.
Bishop Wright (06:45):
Right?
Melissa (06:45):
And Jesus said, give it to God.
Bishop Wright (06:48):
And Jesus, exactly.
Jesus, Jesus, it seemsinteresting, doesn't it?
Because Jesus doesn't seem towant to interrupt, right?
This man is thanking God andpraising God, and Jesus doesn't
say, Hey, no, no, fella, you'retalking to me right now.
Jesus doesn't do that in thisstory, right?
So Jesus is really respectfulof this man's moment of
gratitude, thanksgiving, andpraise.
Uh, and then Jesus extends it.
(07:09):
So, so when you take the movethat you made, what occurs to me
is that Jesus in this story isthe author of this miracle, or
at least a conduit for it,right?
And I I hope that you and Iare, in so much as we can be,
uh, conduits uh for miraclesthat happen all around us.
I hope that you and I arecommitted uh to living lives and
(07:32):
others living lives thatfacilitate miracles in other
people's lives, whether it's asmall miracle, major miracle, it
could be anything.
Who knows?
But I hope that that's thestance, posture that we're
taking in life.
Uh and then there's this othermiracle that I think is also
shows up in the story, at leastto me.
And that is the miracle thatyou and I have within our
(07:56):
control to make every day.
So the miracle, and this iswhat the doctors and
psychologists are saying.
So there's a miracle that youand I can co-create with God uh
each and every day.
And that is uh our mental uhand physical chemistry already
exists.
That if we put the emphasis ongratitude, then all the lights
(08:18):
flash and all the bells ring.
Uh, and somehow uh God gave usall those gifts, and now we're
co-creating with God a life ofgratitude, and it benefits not
only us, right?
But it benefits all the peoplethat we're around.
It's a buoyancy.
Jesus called it wellness.
Wellness we know is shalom,which is peace, right?
And we know that the peace thatGod gives, the world can't take
(08:40):
away.
So now that peace is alsoresilience.
So then if I have a life ofgratitude, I'm better prepared
to deal with the catastrophesthat somehow happen in life,
seasons of depression, sorrow,all the trouble.
Somehow I have a counter agentwithin me.
And so there are miracles thatGod does, and who knows?
(09:02):
Uh we can't uh we can't controlthem.
Um, they are random.
Um, you know, 10 got healed.
How many more were at the lepercolony that needed to be
healed?
We don't know.
Jesus walks through Galilee,not everybody gets healed.
Um, 5,000 are fed on aparticular day.
My guess is that there were25,000 more who could have done
(09:23):
with a free lunch, you know.
Um so the story says what itsays, but then it says this
other piece too, which is themiracles that you and I have the
power to create ourselvesbecause of the gift of being
made in the image of God.
And and and that really excitesme when I think about it.
It, you know, one really crassexample I can give uh to where
(09:48):
uh the uh changing the emphasisin life can really turn your
life around.
Uh, you know, I grew up poorand you know, started to make
some money in my life and thenwas really happy about that and
be and really became a spender,right?
Not not sort of uh dangerouslyso, but I became a spender.
I saw things I wanted to buy, Ibought them.
And with this new financialpower I had, it was really
(10:09):
exciting.
And then I realized that allthat was fun and all that was
great.
And then, you know, and aftersort of taking some financial uh
literacy classes and doing someother things and having a lot
of kids, which will also get youuh get you thinking differently
about uh financial resources,uh uh after a period of time and
(10:30):
a reversal of that spendingparadigm, I became a saver.
And and now I see thingsthrough the lens of saving, same
guy, uh same income, uhdifferent emphasis.
Paradigm shifted.
And and and that changed mylife really.
Uh, and even though my wife andI have been fortunate to have
(10:50):
two incomes, uh, we have uh forthe majority of our lives, uh I
would say 98% of our lifetogether, 28 years, we have
lived on one income.
And um, and and so when I thinkabout um this idea of shifting
from wherever we find ourselvesright now to gratitude, uh for
me it's it's very poignant.
(11:11):
It's about shifting away fromone paradigm into another
paradigm that will better serveyou, uh, that will create some
wholeness and some strength inyour life.
Melissa (11:23):
Well, that wholeness is so important to me in my life.
I love that theme.
I'm curious, though, about theshift, Bishop.
Bishop Wright (11:30):
Yeah.
Melissa (11:31):
The shift towards something new requires us to lay
or shed some skin, right?
So what does that look like?
Bishop Wright (11:39):
Well, we know that all of this stuff is not
magic, right?
In some ways, you know, eventhough we're talking about a
miracle story, this is notmagic, right?
Um, you know, you know, I thinkwhat we we um it's about
shifting focus.
I mean, the the fellows, thethe nine who went on to the
temple, their focus was on uh,as Jesus told them to do, was
about going to the to thetemple.
(12:00):
Uh, the one leper who came backto Jesus, his focus was on
moving toward Jesus.
And so where's your focus?
I mean, and what do you want?
I I teach classes all the time.
I just got back from San Diego.
I'm going to Massachusettstomorrow.
And uh, you know, I I I love topreach about um, you know, the
fifth chapter of John, whereJesus asked the man who was
(12:21):
paralyzed, uh, what do you want?
And of course, uh, the SpiceGirls help us with that.
What tell me what you want,what you really, really want.
And so if we're if we're sickand tired of being sick and
tired, if we're sick and tiredof living a life that is really
flat when it in terms ofgratitude, which means it's
really flat in terms of seeing,because the truth of the matter
(12:41):
is that we're immensely blessed.
Uh the truth of the matter isif we took up a practice by day,
uh to name three things, fivethings, ten things that we we
count as blessings, that we'rethat we're grateful to God for,
if we shift our focus, turn thenews off for a little while,
turn the radio off in the carfor a little while, uh, let the
phone call go to uh to voicemailand just talk to God for that
(13:04):
time, uh we would see in thosepractices how we begin to make
the shift in the paradigm.
And so it's just a matter ofemphasis.
Um, some people like thejournal, that's cool.
Some people like to just uhthink, that's cool.
Some people like to take noteson their phone, that's cool.
Whatever it takes, um, here'swhat I suggest.
I suggest starting off yourprayer life with Thanksgiving
(13:27):
before you get to uh telling Godwhat you need.
I I think in, you know, youthink about it for just a
second.
It might be considered a littlebit of a rude prayer life to
start off with uh what you needfirst.
Melissa (13:40):
Exactly.
Bishop Wright (13:41):
Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe we're struggling
about the things we need becausewe fail to appreciate what we
already have, right?
And so, God, you've given me,you know, I start off with,
Lord, you kept me safe lastnight.
Uh, I woke up under a roof thismorning, God.
Uh, I can blink my eyes and myheart didn't stop working last
night, God.
(14:01):
Uh, you know, I mean, I mean,you know, it sounds, you know,
you know, cute for some andmaybe pedestrian for others, but
I mean, these are this is theessence of life.
I mean, people laying on theirdeathbed today would give
anything to have another nightin the arms of their loved one,
you know, a day more ofheartbeats, a day more of eyes
(14:21):
blinking, a day more of speechto say thank you.
And so, and so, you know, I'm61, moving into 62.
And so I'm in that in thatchapter of life where you really
have got a lot more in therearview mirror than you do in
the windshield.
And, you know, so I I'm justI'm increasingly aware of all
(14:42):
these blessings and how my lifeat a twist or a turn at an
intersection could have gonedown a road and perhaps I could
have got stuck somewhere.
But I have some portion offaith, I have some portion of
hope today, I have some portionof good sense today.
Uh, and so wow, so much to bethankful for.
And it's not that I don't havehardships, I do.
(15:04):
It's not that everything issolved in my life.
It's not.
It's not that I haven't hadprofound disappointments in
life, I absolutely have, right?
But but do we just let thosethings have full sway in our
life?
Or can we live in what I thinkis the creative tension of uh
there are some parts that aretough, but by God, there are
some things that have been just,I'm so grateful for.
(15:25):
And thank God for those things.
Melissa (15:28):
Thank God for those things.
Because again, we got to talkabout the healing part, and
we're wrapping this up here.
But that I don't know that wecan be whole, Bishop.
I don't know that we can healwithout being grateful.
Bishop Wright (15:39):
I completely agree.
I completely agree.
Um, I think it is a path tohealing.
Um, you know, that thatparadigm shift means, I mean, I,
you know, as as bishop, I getto hear a lot of other people's
stories.
And I can tell you in one, inone way or another, I hear this
paradigm shift.
I hear a divorce people saywhen they're ready to get
(16:00):
remarried, they find anothersomeone to love uh and and to
love uh and be loved by.
It's like, thank God I foundlove.
I thought my life was over.
I mean, it was it was in thetrash bin.
And thank God.
I mean, it just a shift, just aradical shift, um, which
provides a buoyancy, you know,uh in life.
And so, yeah, I think it is theway uh for us to make our way.
(16:24):
And I think, look, I thinkthere's nothing uh as infectious
uh wherever we find ourselvesas someone who is uh really
riding that that wonderful hotair thermal uh of uh of good
news in their life andgratitude.
Melissa (16:40):
Indeed.
Bishop, thank you.
We're grateful for you, ourlisteners.
So thank you so much forlistening to For People.
You can follow us on Instagramand Facebook at Bishop Rob
Wright or by visitingwww.forpeople.digital.
Please subscribe, leave areview, and we'll be back with
(17:02):
you next week.
So there's a miracle that you and I can
co-create with God each andevery day.
And that is our mental andphysical chemistry already
exists.
That if we put the emphasis ongratitude, then all the lights
flash and all the bells ring,and somehow uh God gave us all
those gifts, and now we'reco-creating with God a life of
(00:22):
gratitude, and it benefits notonly us, right?
But it benefits all the peoplethat we're around.
Welcome to For People withBishop Rob Wright.
I'm your host, Melissa Rau, andthis is a conversation inspired
(00:46):
by For Faith, a weekly devotionsent out every Friday.
You can find a link you canfind a link to this week's For
Faith and a link to subscribe inthe episode's description.
This week is number eight ofour We Believe series, and
Bishop is called this week's "WeBelieve That Gratitude Heals."
(01:10):
Yeah, Melissa.
So this this week is sort ofinstallment number eight.
It's we believe that gratitudeheals.
It's based on Luke 17, verses11 through 19.
Jesus healed ten lepers, butonly one returned to give thanks
and praises to God.
Now all ten lepers were healed,but Jesus decrees something
(01:32):
additional over the one thatreturns.
As this formerly chronicallyill man is thanking and praising
God for his new healing, Jesusinterrupts him and says, This go
on your way, your faith hasmade you well.
Apparently, then there are atleast two dimensions to faith
(01:54):
trust in God and thanks to God.
Apparently, there is a uniquewellness reserved only for the
grateful.
Melissa (02:05):
Okay.
So I have to say, I believethis too.
Bishop Wright (02:09):
Yeah.
Melissa (02:10):
I think practicing gratitude helps me keep things
in perspective.
Yet this one was hard for me alittle bit.
So I wouldn't challenge, I youknow.
Bishop Wright (02:19):
I love a good challenge.
Melissa (02:20):
Well, here's what it's like, who's to say that the
lepers who were healed, like all10 of them, like just because
the one came back, who's to saythe other nine weren't grateful?
Bishop Wright (02:32):
Yeah, well, we don't know that they're
grateful.
And in fact, it maybe even somepeople may read the story and
say that's a little unfairbecause Jesus tells them uh to
go on your way and show yourselfto the priests.
And maybe we'll just say thatthe other nine are really like
radically obedient, right?
So they go straight to thetemple, right?
I mean, so that's fair to say.
That's fair to say.
(02:52):
But but but even when you saythat, even if you tell the story
that way, it is remarkable,though, that this healing
penetrated this man's uh heartand soul so deeply that his feet
uh made a U-turn.
And uh and he had to go back.
So I I think that however we wesort of frame it up, it is
remarkable that he felt sograteful that his gratitude
(03:16):
became actions uh and words.
And I think that's what we liftup, really.
Yeah, maybe these fellas,there's no doubt these other
nine folks uh, you know, wererestored to the community.
Uh they were no longer, youknow, chronically ill.
Um, you know, they enjoyed newwell-being, you know, and were
now included in the family, soto speak.
(03:37):
I mean, they were not outcasts,they left the leper colony
behind and off they went.
Yeah, of course they probablyfelt like, wow, hallelujah.
Wasn't that phenomenal?
But again, I want to arguethere's something about going
back and saying thank you.
Melissa (03:52):
Yeah.
Bishop Wright (03:53):
Um, and forget what I say.
Um, Jesus seems to say, hesaid, he uses a different word
for him.
He says, is that, you know, uh,this man is so so overwhelmed
by gratitude that according tothe lesson, he's he's on his
hands and knees and he'sthanking God and praising the
Lord and all this sort of stuff.
Jesus sort of interrupts him,says, get up, right?
(04:14):
Your faith has made you well.
So he does this kind of thing.
So I I want to argue uh gently,maybe there's a there's a new
wellness or a separate wellnessthat this fella gets uh that the
other nine perhaps didn't get.
Um, but I I want to make, Iwant to argue, well, look, let's
(04:36):
think about it this way.
Uh uh a truckload of doctors uhand a boatload of psychologists
say that uh a people who uhlive a life that looks like it
is hateful, uh, looks like ithas gratitude, uh, looks like
there's an abiding thanksgivinguh to their lives.
(04:56):
Uh they have better physicaland psychological, mental,
emotional well-being, andoutcomes.
So there's something aboutthis.
Okay, so I'm gonna challengeone more thing.
(05:30):
Good.
So here's here's what I'mthinking.
So there's a big differencebetween God doing miracles and
us doing miracles.
Like I think God does themiracles through us.
And I think sometimes we expectthe people through whom we
might be healing or helping toheal, thank us.
And then if they don't thankus, then therefore they're not
(05:53):
grateful.
And yet, was it our miracle orwas it God's?
To whom is a person grateful?
Charged, I guess, to begrateful grateful toward.
Does that make sense?
Well, yeah, I think so.
Um, uh, you know, let's stick with the story.
Melissa (06:10):
Well, that's what I'm saying.
Like this guy, I mean, how dowe know that those people who
were healed weren't grateful toGod and just didn't turn around
to thank Jesus?
Bishop Wright (06:20):
Well, well, there we are.
So somehow their healing wasprecipitated by Jesus.
Melissa (06:26):
Yeah.
Bishop Wright (06:26):
So Jesus sort of some shows up in in close
proximity to their miracle,right?
So, I mean, if you want todebate that, we can debate that.
And I think it's a fair debate.
I I don't know.
I I just know that this onefella was really, he drew a
straight line between Jesus andhis healing.
Melissa (06:44):
Yeah.
Bishop Wright (06:45):
Right?
Melissa (06:45):
And Jesus said, give it to God.
Bishop Wright (06:48):
And Jesus, exactly.
Jesus, Jesus, it seemsinteresting, doesn't it?
Because Jesus doesn't seem towant to interrupt, right?
This man is thanking God andpraising God, and Jesus doesn't
say, Hey, no, no, fella, you'retalking to me right now.
Jesus doesn't do that in thisstory, right?
So Jesus is really respectfulof this man's moment of
gratitude, thanksgiving, andpraise.
Uh, and then Jesus extends it.
(07:09):
So, so when you take the movethat you made, what occurs to me
is that Jesus in this story isthe author of this miracle, or
at least a conduit for it,right?
And I I hope that you and Iare, in so much as we can be,
uh, conduits uh for miraclesthat happen all around us.
I hope that you and I arecommitted uh to living lives and
(07:32):
others living lives thatfacilitate miracles in other
people's lives, whether it's asmall miracle, major miracle, it
could be anything.
Who knows?
But I hope that that's thestance, posture that we're
taking in life.
Uh and then there's this othermiracle that I think is also
shows up in the story, at leastto me.
And that is the miracle thatyou and I have within our
(07:56):
control to make every day.
So the miracle, and this iswhat the doctors and
psychologists are saying.
So there's a miracle that youand I can co-create with God uh
each and every day.
And that is uh our mental uhand physical chemistry already
exists.
That if we put the emphasis ongratitude, then all the lights
(08:18):
flash and all the bells ring.
Uh, and somehow uh God gave usall those gifts, and now we're
co-creating with God a life ofgratitude, and it benefits not
only us, right?
But it benefits all the peoplethat we're around.
It's a buoyancy.
Jesus called it wellness.
Wellness we know is shalom,which is peace, right?
And we know that the peace thatGod gives, the world can't take
(08:40):
away.
So now that peace is alsoresilience.
So then if I have a life ofgratitude, I'm better prepared
to deal with the catastrophesthat somehow happen in life,
seasons of depression, sorrow,all the trouble.
Somehow I have a counter agentwithin me.
And so there are miracles thatGod does, and who knows?
(09:02):
Uh we can't uh we can't controlthem.
Um, they are random.
Um, you know, 10 got healed.
How many more were at the lepercolony that needed to be
healed?
We don't know.
Jesus walks through Galilee,not everybody gets healed.
Um, 5,000 are fed on aparticular day.
My guess is that there were25,000 more who could have done
(09:23):
with a free lunch, you know.
Um so the story says what itsays, but then it says this
other piece too, which is themiracles that you and I have the
power to create ourselvesbecause of the gift of being
made in the image of God.
And and and that really excitesme when I think about it.
It, you know, one really crassexample I can give uh to where
(09:48):
uh the uh changing the emphasisin life can really turn your
life around.
Uh, you know, I grew up poorand you know, started to make
some money in my life and thenwas really happy about that and
be and really became a spender,right?
Not not sort of uh dangerouslyso, but I became a spender.
I saw things I wanted to buy, Ibought them.
And with this new financialpower I had, it was really
(10:09):
exciting.
And then I realized that allthat was fun and all that was
great.
And then, you know, and aftersort of taking some financial uh
literacy classes and doing someother things and having a lot
of kids, which will also get youuh get you thinking differently
about uh financial resources,uh uh after a period of time and
(10:30):
a reversal of that spendingparadigm, I became a saver.
And and now I see thingsthrough the lens of saving, same
guy, uh same income, uhdifferent emphasis.
Paradigm shifted.
And and and that changed mylife really.
Uh, and even though my wife andI have been fortunate to have
(10:50):
two incomes, uh, we have uh forthe majority of our lives, uh I
would say 98% of our lifetogether, 28 years, we have
lived on one income.
And um, and and so when I thinkabout um this idea of shifting
from wherever we find ourselvesright now to gratitude, uh for
me it's it's very poignant.
(11:11):
It's about shifting away fromone paradigm into another
paradigm that will better serveyou, uh, that will create some
wholeness and some strength inyour life.
Melissa (11:23):
Well, that wholeness is so important to me in my life.
I love that theme.
I'm curious, though, about theshift, Bishop.
Bishop Wright (11:30):
Yeah.
Melissa (11:31):
The shift towards something new requires us to lay
or shed some skin, right?
So what does that look like?
Bishop Wright (11:39):
Well, we know that all of this stuff is not
magic, right?
In some ways, you know, eventhough we're talking about a
miracle story, this is notmagic, right?
Um, you know, you know, I thinkwhat we we um it's about
shifting focus.
I mean, the the fellows, thethe nine who went on to the
temple, their focus was on uh,as Jesus told them to do, was
about going to the to thetemple.
(12:00):
Uh, the one leper who came backto Jesus, his focus was on
moving toward Jesus.
And so where's your focus?
I mean, and what do you want?
I I teach classes all the time.
I just got back from San Diego.
I'm going to Massachusettstomorrow.
And uh, you know, I I I love topreach about um, you know, the
fifth chapter of John, whereJesus asked the man who was
(12:21):
paralyzed, uh, what do you want?
And of course, uh, the SpiceGirls help us with that.
What tell me what you want,what you really, really want.
And so if we're if we're sickand tired of being sick and
tired, if we're sick and tiredof living a life that is really
flat when it in terms ofgratitude, which means it's
really flat in terms of seeing,because the truth of the matter
(12:41):
is that we're immensely blessed.
Uh the truth of the matter isif we took up a practice by day,
uh to name three things, fivethings, ten things that we we
count as blessings, that we'rethat we're grateful to God for,
if we shift our focus, turn thenews off for a little while,
turn the radio off in the carfor a little while, uh, let the
phone call go to uh to voicemailand just talk to God for that
(13:04):
time, uh we would see in thosepractices how we begin to make
the shift in the paradigm.
And so it's just a matter ofemphasis.
Um, some people like thejournal, that's cool.
Some people like to just uhthink, that's cool.
Some people like to take noteson their phone, that's cool.
Whatever it takes, um, here'swhat I suggest.
I suggest starting off yourprayer life with Thanksgiving
(13:27):
before you get to uh telling Godwhat you need.
I I think in, you know, youthink about it for just a
second.
It might be considered a littlebit of a rude prayer life to
start off with uh what you needfirst.
Melissa (13:40):
Exactly.
Bishop Wright (13:41):
Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe we're struggling
about the things we need becausewe fail to appreciate what we
already have, right?
And so, God, you've given me,you know, I start off with,
Lord, you kept me safe lastnight.
Uh, I woke up under a roof thismorning, God.
Uh, I can blink my eyes and myheart didn't stop working last
night, God.
(14:01):
Uh, you know, I mean, I mean,you know, it sounds, you know,
you know, cute for some andmaybe pedestrian for others, but
I mean, these are this is theessence of life.
I mean, people laying on theirdeathbed today would give
anything to have another nightin the arms of their loved one,
you know, a day more ofheartbeats, a day more of eyes
(14:21):
blinking, a day more of speechto say thank you.
And so, and so, you know, I'm61, moving into 62.
And so I'm in that in thatchapter of life where you really
have got a lot more in therearview mirror than you do in
the windshield.
And, you know, so I I'm justI'm increasingly aware of all
(14:42):
these blessings and how my lifeat a twist or a turn at an
intersection could have gonedown a road and perhaps I could
have got stuck somewhere.
But I have some portion offaith, I have some portion of
hope today, I have some portionof good sense today.
Uh, and so wow, so much to bethankful for.
And it's not that I don't havehardships, I do.
(15:04):
It's not that everything issolved in my life.
It's not.
It's not that I haven't hadprofound disappointments in
life, I absolutely have, right?
But but do we just let thosethings have full sway in our
life?
Or can we live in what I thinkis the creative tension of uh
there are some parts that aretough, but by God, there are
some things that have been just,I'm so grateful for.
(15:25):
And thank God for those things.
Melissa (15:28):
Thank God for those things.
Because again, we got to talkabout the healing part, and
we're wrapping this up here.
But that I don't know that wecan be whole, Bishop.
I don't know that we can healwithout being grateful.
Bishop Wright (15:39):
I completely agree.
I completely agree.
Um, I think it is a path tohealing.
Um, you know, that thatparadigm shift means, I mean, I,
you know, as as bishop, I getto hear a lot of other people's
stories.
And I can tell you in one, inone way or another, I hear this
paradigm shift.
I hear a divorce people saywhen they're ready to get
(16:00):
remarried, they find anothersomeone to love uh and and to
love uh and be loved by.
It's like, thank God I foundlove.
I thought my life was over.
I mean, it was it was in thetrash bin.
And thank God.
I mean, it just a shift, just aradical shift, um, which
provides a buoyancy, you know,uh in life.
And so, yeah, I think it is theway uh for us to make our way.
(16:24):
And I think, look, I thinkthere's nothing uh as infectious
uh wherever we find ourselvesas someone who is uh really
riding that that wonderful hotair thermal uh of uh of good
news in their life andgratitude.
Melissa (16:40):
Indeed.
Bishop, thank you.
We're grateful for you, ourlisteners.
So thank you so much forlistening to For People.
You can follow us on Instagramand Facebook at Bishop Rob
Wright or by visitingwww.forpeople.digital.
Please subscribe, leave areview, and we'll be back with
(17:02):
you next week.
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