Question

Hello Rabbi!
 
A question that has been bothering me for quite a long time: it is customary to thank God for being saved from something, or even just for the digestive system working, and the like.
And I ask: what are we giving thanks for? After all, He put you in that situation. If a person takes a kettle of boiling water and comes to pour it on someone else, and in the end does not pour it, should the person it was not poured on thank the person who wanted to pour it on him??