You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth…”
- Deuteronomy 8:17–18
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Gratitude and humility go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other. And Scripture shows us this truth over and over, especially in Deuteronomy 8.
Israel had been wandering in the wilderness for forty years, surviving on manna, depending on God for literally everything. But they were about to enter the Promised Land, a place with real food, real homes, real stability. God knew that once life got comfortable, once they finally got a taste of abundance, it would be easy to forget who got them there.
And so He gives them this reminder:
“Don’t forget Me when it gets good.”
“Don’t start believing you did this on your own.”
“Don’t let blessing turn into pride.”
Because here’s the truth most of us don’t want to admit: when life gets easier, our dependence on God often gets quieter. Comfort can be loud. Provision can be distracting. Success, even the healthy kind, can slowly whisper, “You did this.”
But God interrupts that narrative completely.
He says, “Remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability…”
The ability.
The strength.
The breath in your lungs.
The opportunities.
The gifts.
The open doors.
The ideas.
The moments of favor you couldn’t have orchestrated if you tried.
Gratitude is what pulls us back to reality. It reminds us we’re not self-made, we’re God-made. And that’s humbling in the best way.
Gratitude humbles us because it shifts the credit.
Think of how many areas in life try to push us toward taking credit:
“I worked hard for this.”
“I built this.”
“I earned this.”
“I figured it out.”
And sure, you worked. You showed up. You gave effort. But even that ability came from God.
Humility doesn’t downplay your work; it simply recognizes that none of it would be possible without God’s hand on your life.
Gratitude trains your heart to say, “God, everything I have is because of You. And everything I will ever have depends on You.”
That’s humility. Not groveling. Not self-loathing. Not minimizing your gifts.
Just recognizing their Source.
Gratitude humbles us because it creates dependence.
Gratitude puts you in a posture of receiving, not grasping.
When you see everything as a gift, you stop white-knuckling your way through life. You stop believing the lie that everything rests on your shoulders. You stop carrying the pressure to hold it all together.
Instead, there’s this quiet, steady confidence: “God will provide. God will lead. God will sustain.”
Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself, it’s trusting God more than yourself.
And gratitude is what helps your heart make that shift.
Gratitude humbles us because it creates worship, not entitlement.
Entitlement says, “I deserve this. I earned this.”
Gratitude says, “I don’t deserve this, but God has been so good.”
One leads to pride. The other leads to worship.
That’s why gratitude is so powerful, it dethrones us and puts God back where He belongs. It realigns our hearts with truth. It breaks the illusion that we’re in control. It reminds us that everything good in our lives is evidence of God’s generosity.
Thanksgiving becomes worship when humility is present.
A humble heart doesn’t rush past blessings; it pauses and recognizes them.
A humble heart sees God’s fingerprints in both the small and the big.
A humble heart knows that the Provider is more important than the provision.
As Thanksgiving draws closer, let this be your prayer: “Lord, don’t let me forget You when life gets comfortable. Keep my heart humble. Keep my gratitude honest. Let every blessing point me back to You.”
Prayer:
Father, everything I have is from You. Every opportunity, every blessing, every breath, it all comes from Your hand. Help me to remember You in the good seasons and the hard ones. Remove any pride in me that tries to take credit for what You’ve done. Teach me to walk humbly and gratefully, knowing that You are the Source of every good thing. Amen.
Reflection:
Take a few minutes and write down:
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Where have you seen God provide for you in ways you didn’t earn or expect?
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What abilities, opportunities, or open doors do you have today that clearly came from Him?
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What blessings have you started to treat as normal that need to be recognized again as gifts?