Gratitude 1 – Gratitude is Good for You!

Plenty of non-Christian research states the benefits of gratitude. People who are thankful are known to be

• Less likely to be depressed
• More likely to do well in school
• Get better sleep
• Stay healthy
• Have deeper friendships
• Generally have a brighter outlook on life.

Giving thanks is a recurring theme throughout the bible.

• In Leviticus we see thanksgiving offerings that could be offered to the Lord.
• King David repeatedly offered songs of thanksgiving to God.
• The Psalms are full of examples of this.
• Jesus offered thanks to the Father in prayer and when he broke bread with his disciples
• In the book of Acts we find the apostles thanking and praising God in all situations, even in prison!

In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, the Apostle Paul wrote,

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

So, not only is it good for you and modelled by the bible, but we now see here that it is God’s will that you are grateful!

Living as grateful people is God’s will for our lives.

God knows how positively gratitude would affect us—long before an article or book was written about the topic. So let’s obey him and work together on this.

I don’t know if being grateful comes naturally to you or not. It does seem more free-flowing from some people more than others. I am very grateful to God and people around me for so many things. But I can still work on developing a habit of expressing that gratitude. I find that when I express gratitude, not just mentally acknowledge it, something happens. I feel better! Life seems better!

But there is always opposition. The world around us constantly encourages us to look at what we do not have. Advertising tells us we need something more in our lives and so we feel a sense of lack. Social media presents us with all the great things happening to other people and again we sense that we are being left out. But grateful people look at what they do have, and thank God for it.

As I’ve been thinking about this recently I’ve come to categorize lack in two ways. First there are things that we lack that we don’t even need. Can you think of any examples? Maybe you’ve been a bit jealous of someone who has something you don’t. But you don’t even need that thing.

Then there are things that we might lack that we do actually need. It’s important to recognise that gratitude is not denial. While we choose to thank God for what we do have, it is important to face head on our genuine needs too. But he is a good father and he knows you need them before you even ask. Continue to be thankful for the things you do have and present your requests to him too… with thanksgiving! I’m not making this up – Philippians 4:6 says,

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

So for now, let’s start creating some new habits. Can we work on this together?

Here are some things we can get started with:

1. Choose three things. Make a daily habit to say or write three (or more!) things you’re thankful for.
2. Set a gratitude alarm or think of a trigger moment (e.g. brushing your teeth, putting the kettle on, getting in the car, something you do every day). When the alarm goes off or you come to that trigger moment, ask God to bring to mind the blessings and gifts in your life and thank Him for them.
3. Tell someone. Every day, talk to someone about what you’re thankful for. Just try to bring it into the conversation.

If you meet with other Christians during the week and want to pursue a life of gratitude, perhaps share these thoughts with them and become accountable to one another to be grateful in all circumstances.

Next time we will begin to look at specific areas we can focus in on and train our minds and our mouths to be thankful.