What do you give thanks for as you gather around the Thanksgiving table?

Food … a warm home … a loving family … freedom … clean water … financial provision … health …

Consider adding one more item to your list this year: give thanks to God for your strengths.

You may hesitate to do so because you fear becoming like that self-righteous Pharisee who boasted as he prayed, “Thank you that I am not like other men” (Luke 18:9-14).

But the truth is that thanking God for your strengths demonstrates humility.

Because strengths are a gift of provision.

Provisions are Necessary Supplies

Provisions are supplies needed for a journey.

In your life’s journey, God has provided the supplies you need to do the work He has given you to do. He has given you your strengths.

Ephesians 2:10 says, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” Your strengths are God’s work product – and a one-of-a-kind, at that. The Greek term for “workmanship,” poiema, denotes the work of a single act, not work that is mass produced or even habitually produced.  God has provided you with a unique combination of strengths replicated in no one else.

You spend time at Thanksgiving thanking God for other provisions: food, clothes, shelter, love.

Why not thank Him for your strengths? They are a gift of provision, too.

Growth Point

Strengths are a gift of provision.

Scripture

We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10, ESV)

Prayer Points

• Why might you hesitate or even forget to give thanks to God for your strengths?
• What are some ways you have seen God use your strengths to accomplish His work through you?
• List 3 or 4 strengths that God has given you. Thank Him for each one.

More on Giving Thanks

How to be Thankful for Differences in Others

Gratitude Is Pro-Active: Ways to Thank God for Your Strengths