The past week we paused to celebrate Thanksgiving. As with most important dates on the calendar, it provides a great occasion to not only pause but to reflect.

Reflection is perhaps one of the most important functions of the human mind. It allows us to step back and see beneath the surface of the waters. Too often we get caught up in the circumstances of life. Reflection gives us the opportunity to see beyond those circumstances to the heart of the matter. In short, reflection leads us to perspective.

That all too important quality that so often seems just out of reach. With perspective comes the strength to face down the difficulties that reach up and seek to pull you under.

This Thanksgiving brought many good things, including a much-needed dose of perspective.

It is funny that while my feelings and thoughts flitter here, there, and everywhere; the Lord directs my steps exactly where He wants them. He moves and orchestrates the places and times of our dwelling, and the circumstances that shape our lives.

The Lord used my wife and community to introduce a healthy dose of what I needed into my life. It seems that when life deals what I feel is a bad hand, the Lord doesn’t allow me to throw a pity party or wallow feeling sorry for myself. God used these wonderful friends and family to remind me of that setbacks don’t derail the mission. They only inform it and provide the sweetness victory brings when it comes.

The funny thing about thankfulness is that it’s about more than how you feel. The nature of thankfulness isn’t just a feeling within you. It is an argument for the existence of God.

Thankfulness is about God.

Greg Koukl helped me put flesh to this idea in his weekly podcast. In this podcast, he remarked that thankfulness contains two components. Both components help us understand something about the world.

The first component is that when we are thankful, we are thankful for something. We are thankful for specific things. Thankfulness does not work as a general feeling within us. It is tied to actual things in the world.

For example, I am thankful for the perspective and encouragement my wife and community introduced to me this weekend. I am thankful for this specific instance of their love.

The second component is that we are thankful to persons. When the specific thing we are thankful for happens, we are thankful to the person(s) responsible. Thankfulness is owed to responsible parties. It is not owed to impersonal forces. Impersonal forces don’t make the choices required to necessitate our thankfulness.

For example, I am thankful to my wife, community and ultimately the Lord for their loving encouragement and perspective. I am thankful to persons for things.

How do these two components point us to God?

A number of the things we are thankful for are not the product of persons in the world. I am thankful I was born in Texas. This was 100% outside not only my control but also outside the control of my parents. Did they play a role? Of course. But it had nothing to do with me personally. It resulted in a kid, but they did not decide on me.

God makes these choices and stands sovereign over them. Our thankfulness is directed towards Him in these instances.

What seems a general emotion of life turns out a specific path pointing us towards the reality of God’s existence and sovereignty.