I have much to be thankful for. I am grateful for the many opportunities I have to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world through the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse.

I am thankful for my family and their personal commitment to follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Although I still miss my mother, I am thankful that she is in the loving arms of the Lord. I’m so blessed that we still have our father with us and in good health as he approaches his 92nd birthday this month. He still wants to preach another sermon, and he loves to spend his time in God’s Word.

I’m also thankful for the prayers of so many of our supporters for our work of evangelism. We could not carry on this ministry apart from the faithful intercession of the saints.

But most of all, I am grateful that I have such a glorious and wonderful Savior to Whom I can constantly and joyfully give thanks.

James—Jesus’ half-brother and the leader of the church in Jerusalem—wrote: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17).

When the Apostle John received the “revelation of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:1) on the isle of Patmos, he described the scene before God’s throne in a worshipful light: “The twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created'” (Revelation 4:10-11).

As David neared the end of life and contemplated the blessings of God on his life, he uttered these grateful words: “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and the earth is yours. … and now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name” (1 Chronicles 29:11, 13).

It is always distressing to me during the holiday season to see people giving thanks for their blessings, all the while unwilling to give thanks to the loving and gracious God who is the source of all good things.

When we give thanks to God, we acknowledge Him as the provider of all that we enjoy on this Earth. We celebrate His goodness and tender care for us, and we exalt His sovereign power that rules over the heavens and the Earth. Thanking God humbles our hearts before Him, and it is to the humble that He gives ever-increasing grace (James 4:6).

Above all, I am thankful to God the Father that He “so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). I received Christ as my Savior at age 22, in a hotel in Jerusalem, when I turned from my sin to the Savior and was born again by the Holy Spirit. My life has never been the same, and I am eternally grateful.

“Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).