Gratitude 3 – Grateful for my health

Our third session on the topic of gratitude is our health. Again, thanks to the YouVersion Bible App reading plan, “How to Be Grateful for Your Life,” for some of the ideas in these videos.

If you’re suffering with ill health or know someone who is, you may think that a talk on being grateful for your health is not for you. However, I would beg to differ.

In our first session we talked about how gratitude is good for you. Part of the overall idea of this is that we are to focus on what is good in our lives. So if we are suffering with an illness but are able to think clearly, we must thank God daily for our mental health. If we have a headache but are able to walk outside in fresh air, we must thank God for what we do have.

Before we go any further, let me clarify something that I am NOT saying:

I have already said previously that this thankful behaviour is not a denial of the issue. If I have a problem, it is still there, but I am not giving it my attention all the time. We have to be real about our problems, like when Habakkuk was pretty clear that the fig tree wasn’t budding, there was no fruit on the vine, the olive crop had failed and the fields produced no food, there were no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls. That’s not denial. But what it is, is choosing to praise the Lord anyway! And in this talk we’re saying, though we are ill, even so I will praise God. And I will be thankful for the health that I do have, while waiting for my healing.

Part of my thankfulness can be that God knows each of us intimately and perfectly.

Look at these verses in Psalm 139:

¹ You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.

He “created our inmost beings,” he “knit us together in our mother’s womb,” and “saw our unformed body.” He calls us “fearfully and wonderfully made.” He knows us intimately, warts and all, he knows all about you, he cares all about you and he knows what you need. We can thank him for his incredible work. Despite your physical frailty, be thankful that you are fearfully and wonderfully made.

In this fallen world in which we live, there will be struggles each of us face. Sometimes a health challenge is thrust upon us, while other times, we bring things upon ourselves. 

Regardless of where we are in these areas of our health, when we wake up each day, we have reason to thank God for our spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical health. Let’s consider these habits as we walk in gratitude for our health:

1. Honour your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies. Our bodies are God’s temple; His Spirit dwells inside of us. If we’re able to exercise and eat healthy food, let’s show our gratitude to God for having the ability to be active and choose the right foods for our bodies.
2. Strengthen your mind. Sadly, mental illness is a real threat and often keeps people imprisoned. Most of us know someone struggling with some version of it and that can be hard to navigate. If we don’t struggle with this, let’s be grateful to God for the ability to help others through their difficult season.
3. Grow spiritually. Reading the Bible, attending church, and gathering with fellow followers of Jesus is forbidden in certain parts of the world, yet many people risk their lives to do it anyway. If you have the freedom to pursue Jesus and share Him with those around you, be thankful for this amazing gift!

In this life, we’ll experience many health issues. Some seasons will be harder than others. No matter what you’re facing in the spiritual, mental, emotional, or physical health realm, start each day with Psalm 118:24 ESV, which says, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!”