It’s Thanksgiving time again. I know it is a couple of weeks away, but it’s never too early to count our blessings. This week let’s be thankful for our material blessings. We live in a “give me more” generation, but we have already been so richly blessed and need to be thankful for God’s provision.

There are revealing qualities to a truly grateful person. They are grateful for their home even if it’s a shack in the valley instead of the mansion on the hill. They are thankful for their clothes even if they came from a thrift store instead of Saks Fifth Avenue. They are thankful for their food even if they have to eat it by the light of one candle at their table instead of a five-star restaurant. A grateful heart does not depend on the quality of the provision. It depends on the quality of the heart.

There has been so much devastation and loss this year due to floods, hurricanes, fires, and storms, let’s be thankful for what we have. Then in our gratefulness, reach out to those in need and give them another reason to be thankful.

Paul said it best in Philippians 4:12, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

We know the next verse, but we often separate it from this one. How can Paul say that he is content in every situation good or bad? Philippians 4:13 tells us “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Paul wasn’t looking at what he did or didn’t have; he was looking at the one who provides it all.

Take a prayer walk through your house and thank God for all your blessings. Most of all thank him for being a loving, giving father who provides for his children. 

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father.” (James 1:17)