What are you thankful for?

November marks the beginning of one of my most favorite times of year.

During this month, many will begin to reflect on all the things that they are thankful for — family, material possessions, jobs, and a myriad other things.

It is important for us to give thanks, but one question comes to mind that we need to ask first. Who do we give thanks to?

We can give thanks to our employers, our family, our friends and our colleagues. However, true thanks belongs to God for who and what we have that we are thankful for.

In the book of Psalms chapter 92, the psalmist David writes, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to Your name the Lord Most High. To declare your lovingkindness in the morning and your faithfulness by night.”

It is good to praise and give thanks with the right perspective.

God has given us everything we have. He has provided for us a job, a home, and our family.

He continues to show his kindness toward each of us every day. He does this even though we fail to recognize Him as the provider.

When we recognize the Lord as our provider, it changes the way we see what we have. What we have may be meager in comparison to others, but we still have something. A lot of times we confuse what we want with what we need.

Philippians 4:19 says, “My God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory.”

Notice the wording; all your needs. He knows what we need and he does provide. We can praise Him because he is the provider.

The second thing that happens when we recognize Him as the provider is that we have a new found understanding of our relationship with God.

The Lord loves us so much that he is attentive to each and every one of his creation.

The scripture says that he sees when just one sparrow falls and how much more valuable are you than a sparrow.

His eyes are watching us. He sees the needs and he provides.

A song that just recently became popular is called Way Maker. The lyrics are simple but powerful. He is the way. Maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness, that is who you are. That is why we praise him and give him thanks.

This November, I would like to challenge each of you reading this article. Each day of November write down one thing that you are thankful for.

After you have written it down, next to it write how God is connected to what you are thankful for. Give him thanks and praise for what you are thankful for.

It is not until we come to the realization of the goodness and faithfulness of God that we truly understand what thankfulness is.

What are you thankful for? Who are you thankful for? We celebrate the love of God and the hope of the season.

Have a wonderful November. Be thankful, show gratitude, and express heartfelt sincerity as we enter into this joyous season.