The idea that being grateful can improve your health and wellbeing is nothing new.

The Greek philosopher Epictetus (AD 50-135) stated that “he is a wise man who does not grieve for things he has not, but rejoices for those which he has”

More importantly for Christians the Bible reminds us of the importance of being thankful. “Rejoice always…give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). More recent studies have shown the benefits of being grateful on our mental and physical health. The process of being grateful can increase our happiness by as much as 25%.

Studies have also shown that actually feeling grateful is only part of the process. It helps us further if we record why we are grateful, if we express our gratitude whether verbally or by writing things down.

One author writes: “By cultivating gratitude, we are free from envy over what we don’t have or who we are not. It doesn’t make it perfect, but with gratitude comes a realisation that right now, in this moment, we have enough, we are enough.” ⁽¹⁾

This is wonderful but there is more to gratefulness and gratitude than simply how we feel and it’s benefits for us. This on it’s own can become a very self centred view point. The Bible encourages us to be thankful, to be grateful but also that we should focus this gratitude towards our God, our creator and saviour.

One place to go if you are looking for prayers or songs of thankfulness is the Psalms. There are so many which are full of words of thanks, of praise and gratefulness to God. Others show the writers exhorting themselves to be grateful.

The Psalms are also the place to go when we are feeling low, there are Psalms which are known as the songs of lament and these are full of expressions of pain and anguish. Yet even in these Psalms the writers more often than not finish with praise or thanks. Often they close with a reminder that we should move our gaze from our present circumstances and be reminded of how great our God is.

One of the dangers of this teaching is that it can have a real western, prosperity slant to it if we aren’t careful! Yet the reality of it is, is that if we are able to lift our focus onto our heavenly father and away from our present circumstances which might be trying / difficult or in reality awful, there are still things we can all be grateful for.

What’s amazing about gratitude, biblical gratitude, is that when we express gratitude, we glorify God and it is also good for us! As we’ve said being grateful has been proven to improve our emotions generally and increases not just our emotional but also our physical and spiritual health!

Some things to keep in mind

The Biblical concept of gratitude is different in a number of ways. 

Salvation - let’s face it the biggest aspect is that our gratitude grows from our salvation through Jesus. There isn’t any greater reason for thankfulness in our lives.

Who God is - we can be grateful because of the character of God. He is a loving, righteous, generous, gracious God. His plans never falter and he loves us like a perfect father.

What God has and is doing - thankfulness is the natural response when we make ourselves aware of all that God has done, is doing and will do in and through our lives as we honour him.

Gives God Glory - the wonderful thing about being grateful, is that the process in and of itself gives God glory. When we put Him in the rightful place in our lives, thanking Him for the blessings He has given us, it is a testimony to others of what God is doing in us. 

A decision of the heart - sometimes our lives won’t go the way we think they should, sometimes it may be hard for us to think of things in the practical which we can be grateful for. It’s in these moments, like the Psalmists did that we need to stir ourselves and remind our spirits just what Jesus has done for us! 

How can I practice gratitude? I’m already busy!

Isn’t this just another thing to pack into an already busy day? You don’t know what my day is like, there is so much to do! It’s true, it can be really hard to produce a new good habit in our lives, sometimes good habits seem harder than bad ones (?!) but we can break things down and make it easier to remember. It may help to use something that regularly happens in your day as a way of reminding you to be grateful or express gratitude. 

* When you first wake up
* Whenever you sit down to eat food
* A gratitude alarm on your phone
* Straight after the school run
* Just before you arrive at the office / work
* Whenever you load the washing machine or do a particular household chore
* Before you watch a tv programme or do something else you enjoy to relax
* Just as you arrive home from school / college / work
* Just before you settle down for the night
* Some other point in your day which is significant to you or something which you do every day

As we use these natural reminders to help us, we will find that it is easier to form a habit of gratitude. Remember we’re not meant to force this attitude but that as we take time to take stock and think about things we will find that there are things we can all be grateful for, even if its as simple as “thank you Lord, for another opportunity to prove your faithfulness as you work through this situation in my life”.

Many people suggest that writing down a couple of things each day that we are grateful for in a journal or prayer diary / note book will really help us especially in the future, as we begin to record what we are grateful for we can see more easily all the things that God is doing in our lives.

We wrote an earlier post about Gratitude a few years ago, the ideas in it are still very relevant so you can read more here.