I want to explore thankfulness and gratitude as we enter this Thanksgiving season. In the Bible, we are told to be thankful or grateful more than 150 times—and that doesn’t even count the nearly 200 times “praise the Lord” is written or the 85 times we are told to “give thanks.” That is really interesting to me!
Scientists have discovered so many benefits of gratitude, and it makes me giggle inside when science “proves” what God knew when He created us. I want to highlight just a few things that scientists have discovered about gratitude and grateful people (thank you, Google):
- Practicing gratitude is linked to improved sleep quality.
- Grateful individuals tend to have better cardiac functioning.
- Gratitude can help individuals be more resilient during difficult times.
- Gratitude activates the parts of our brains that are involved in stress relief, lowering our cortisol levels.
- Gratitude stimulates our brains to release dopamine and serotonin.
- Gratitude can help us regulate our moods more effectively and ultimately make it easier to experience positive emotions in the future.
- Gratitude may lead, they say, to long-term improvements in cognitive functions like empathy and decision-making.
Gratitude is a state of mind that can be cultivated as we practice it. Where thankfulness is a temporary reaction to a single circumstance, gratitude is a deeper, sustainable mindset that can be felt without something specifically good happening to us. Gratitude often begins with thankfulness, but they are not the same, and, ironically, gratitude leads to more moments of thankfulness as we appreciate life and people more. Gratitude is still apart of us even when the thankfulness fades—it reminds me so much of all of the fruit of the spirit that are intentional practices of the soul and only possible through the Holy Spirit; like love that is more than just a fleeting feeling or joy that is deeper than happiness or peace that is only true when rooted in the truth of Christ. . . .
The authors of the Bible, through the Holy Spirit, clearly understood that having a grateful heart—and not just being momentarily thankful—is essential for our mental and physical health. God designed us that way!
When it seemed like my world was falling apart about ten years ago, my best friend, Beth Wiebe, challenged me to find the silver lining. She didn’t phrase it like that, but she encouraged me to actively see where God was showing up, even when it felt like He wasn’t there. She wanted me to be grateful for His timing, protection, or the many ways He showed that He knew me so well. She didn’t let me off the hook in that challenge. Sometimes she would ask me to tell her what I discovered, and sometimes she would show me when I couldn’t see it for myself.
It wasn’t easy at first, but it started to become more natural, and before I knew it, it was second-nature. I saw how God showed up almost before I saw the disappointment or hurt. I could see He loved and protected me even in the yuck. Beth taught me about being grateful even when it wasn’t attached to an initial feeling of being thankful. And that gratitude I was learning to cultivate led me to be grateful in “all circumstances,” even when they weren’t the type of circumstances begging for thanksgiving.
And in that practice, I benefited in all of the ways that scientists said I would, but even more, I began living a life of gratitude that aligned more and more with the heart of Christ. Was I perfect? Absolutely not, but gratitude led me to be more loving, joyful, peace-filled, patient (with God, myself, and others), kind, good, selfless, faithful, and self-controlled. Gratitude drew me closer to God and helped me see Him as my safe place and champion defender, regardless of what was happening in my world.
Several years later, I was sitting in counseling with one of my children, and he was getting the opportunity to share with me many of his struggles. One thing that really bothered him was that I always found the silver lining. I sat in that for a minute. I had been so intentionally looking for those silver linings. I deliberately cultivated gratitude in my heart, and I could see clearly what a better person I had become, so I sat in that revelation and mulled it over. This wasn’t the only thing he mentioned in that session, and the point of the session wasn’t to respond, but to hear him. I did, and when the time was right, he and I got to have a lovely conversation about gratitude and the role it has played in my life, and how my heart of gratitude for all of the ways God showed up, especially when it wasn’t obvious, is what helped me survive our most challenging times. He and I agreed to disagree in that moment. I walked away committed to making him feel more seen and heard in the future and not allowing my “silver-lining-ness” to minimize the things he was going through. I began to pray that he would discover how much a grateful heart can change his outlook on circumstances and his life.
Fast-forward more than two years. . . . He called me the other day and said that he has been intentionally practicing gratitude. He said something along the lines of, “I never thought I’d say this, but your silver-lining theory really does help,” and he started telling me about his journey towards gratitude. It was sweet to hear because I had already recognized his difference.
That said, God created us for abundance, and I know that ultimate abundance will come in the fullness of eternity, but life is so much more abundant now with a grateful heart. Scientists have proven what God already knew and has called us into.
I want to challenge you to start looking for the small and big ways that God shows up in each answered and seemingly unanswered prayer. He is there, and making that a habit is a really great way to live a life of gratitude because how can you not be grateful when you see the Creator of all things and the King of kings show up specifically for you?
