Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed (Luke 17:11-14).

When the lepers cried out to Jesus for mercy, I wonder how many expected the Lord to heal them right away?

To me, the command to “Go” would have come as a disappointment. I wouldn’t want to “go”—I’d want to be healed! Or, at the very least, I’d want some more information. “I’ll go…but what is going to happen, Lord? What’s your plan? When, exactly, will I get better and be able to return home?”

In commanding the lepers to “go,” Jesus was telling them to obey the Mosaic Law. The Law had very specific regulations about dealing with people who had leprosy. And it had a process for restoring those who recovered from it. If you were healed, you had to see a priest who would verify it (see Leviticus 14).

So they obeyed and started walking. How far did they have to go? Jesus met the lepers while passing through Samaria, which was around 40 miles north of Jerusalem. The lepers had a long way to go!

But they went.

And as they walked mile after mile after mile, something began to happen. “As they went, they were cleansed.”

God healed them, but He healed them on the way, while they were making the journey.

Could that be how God is working in your life? You may want the instantaneous fix for your particular trial, but God might be planning to “heal” you on the way. So cry to the Lord for mercy, but keep on obeying, keep on trusting, and keep on walking.