Illustration: Thanksgiving

In his Turning Point Daily Devotional for Nov. 3-4, David Jeremiah observes: One of the greatest displays of personal wealth in recorded history is that of King David of Israel in preparation for building the first temple in Jerusalem. Out of his own personal wealth, David gave 3,000 talents of gold and seven thousand talents of silver—an amount worth about $5.9 billion in today's dollars. The leaders of Israel contributed several times more.

What do you think the first words from David's mouth were after these billions of dollars of commodities were collected? "Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever" (1 Chron. 29:10). The first thing David did was "praise God from whom all blessings flow" (to use the words of our modern Doxology). David knew everything they had given to build the temple had come from God and they were donating back to God only what God had previously given to them. A lack of praise in times of prosperity may mean we are confused about the source of our blessings.

If you have more than you need today, give thanks to God for your prosperity.