With yesterday being Thanksgiving Day, many were counting their blessings and giving thanks unto God for all He has done and is doing for us.  Hopefully that thankfulness will extend throughout each and every day.  Have you given much thought to WHY you enjoy those blessings?
   In order to be thankful, one needs to know who to thank, right?  I mean, if George gives you a present, you don’t thank Bob for it, do you?  Being appreciative of favor given should be part of our nature, but so often we fail to do so, and maybe even after a while develop the attitude that we are owed that favor, that we deserve it, and we take it for granted.  That is why there are so many rude people in the world today: they have an attitude, and it’s not a good one.
   Yesterday while taking my wife out to eat at a local restaurant, I had forgotten to take a tray for our silverware and plates.  The man in line behind me slid a tray front of me and immediately I said Thank You.  He said, No, that’s MY tray, yours is back there, pointing farther back in the line where the trays were.  I went back and got one, realizing I had given thanks where none was due.  That man was definitely NOT the source of my blessing.  It’s important to know where your blessings come from so you don’t waste your thanks.
   And that brings me to identifying the source of our blessings.  Let’s read Psalm 46:
Psa 46:1  God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Psa 46:2  Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Psa 46:3  Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
Psa 46:4  There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
Psa 46:5  God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.
Psa 46:6  The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
Psa 46:7  The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
Psa 46:8  Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.
Psa 46:9  He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
Psa 46:10  Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Psa 46:11  The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
 
   This Psalm clearly identifies God as the source of our blessings, peace, life, and health, so it is to Him we owe our thanks.  It is He who delivers us from all our troubles.  Or is it only me who has seen hard times?  The LORD of hosts being with us, we are safe in His hands, no matter how difficult the devil tries to make our lives.  No matter how high the mountain, and though he brings catastrophe to destroy us, the LORD is for us, and not against us.  I really like that part where it says,  Be still, and know that I am God:  I think that’s where we miss it.  We are so busy bawling and squalling about all our troubles that we don’t take the time to simply get on our knees and BE STILL and KNOW that He is Almighty God, that He loves us, that He cares tenderly about us, and that He is not going to drop us on our little pumpkin heads.
   When we finally get it through our thick heads that He is God, it all becomes abundantly clear: HE IS GOD.  All else pales in the face of that, and there is nothing that can stand in His way nor prosper against Him.  That means, if you are in Christ Jesus, you cannot be defeated.  Which brings me to this:  If you aren’t in Christ Jesus right now, why not?  What is your excuse for being out there all alone and unprotected?  Do you see yourself as being unworthy of His love?  Not to worry, He has MADE you worthy by His own choice.  He’s God, you know…He can make those choices.  In spite of how you may have treated Him in the past, or how little consideration you have given Him, He loves you anyway, and wants to bring you into His good plan for your life.  He has all the answers for all your questions.  He’s the one who will never leave you nor forsake you.  Though all the world be in chaos, the mountains trembling, and the floods of life abounding, and it seems there is no way out of trouble for you….
   Right now, BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.  HE IS THE GOD OF YOUR REFUGE…YOUR REFUGE!!  And He loves you!   And all else is, well,…..dust on the scale, small change, no big deal.