How to be GratefuL
I think if we were honest, most of us would agree that we could be more grateful for the things God has done in my life.
In an article in Greater Good Magazine entitled, “How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain,” authors Joshua Brown and Joel Wong wrote, “many studies over the past decade have found that people who consciously count their blessings tend to be happier and less depressed.”
Studies have found that a regular habit of gratitude has a positive impact on your sleep, can lessen feelings of depression, give you healthier relationships, improves your eating habits, gives you more patience, and will affect your overall happiness. In studies by Susan Peirce Thompson, a cognitive scientist, research has shown that people who take time to recite daily three things they are thankful for see considerable improvements in depression and overall happiness, sometimes in as little as a couple of weeks. “If there were a drug that did that, whoever patented that drug would be rich,” Thompson says. “Gratitude is very powerful.”
While we all acknowledge our need for increased gratitude, so many of us still recognize that we don’t live our lives gratefully. In Psalm 116, David is reflecting on the goodness of God in his life and asks, “How can I repay the Lord for all the good he has done for me?” (Psalm 116:12).
I believe this is a rhetorical question because the truth is we can’t ever “pay God back” for all his blessings. We can, however, live a life of true gratitude. Think of the story of Jesus in Luke 17. He miraculously heals 10 people with leprosy, but only one of the men, a Samaritan, returns to offer his gratitude to Jesus.
“Then he said to him,” in verse 19, “‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” When we are grateful, we get more than just the blessing; we get an authentic relationship with the blessing giver.
How do we live with real gratitude?
David begins Psalm 116 by professing his love for God. So too for us, true gratitude should bring us into a deeper love for God. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.” A life of true gratitude is one of authentic love for God.
When we’re grateful, we also keep asking. God isn’t done being good, and gratitude should increase our faith to ask God for more and our dependence to rely on God for more.
God doesn’t work on a quid-pro-quo basis. When we’re grateful for what God has done, we trust him and believe that he is able to do even more as we rely on him more. A life of true gratitude is one of true dependence.
Grateful people are people who rest. This might seem counterintuitive to our Western sensibilities, but this is the principle of Sabbath. Just as God rested at creation, so too we should regularly rest. This is an act of gratitude and surrender. We recognize all that God has done, and out of thanks to him, we choose to rest, in faith that he will continue to bless us.
When we live with real gratitude, we walk in relationship with God. One of the main reasons Christians don’t make time to walk with God is because they are not truly grateful for what God has done in their lives.
Think if Jeff Bezos, the uber-wealthy founder of Amazon, told you he was willing to pay for all of your expenses for the rest of your life. Not only that, but he’d fulfill all your financial dreams. He would fund any idea, pay for any dream, and donate to any cause you wish. In addition, Bezos offers to use his connections and influence to help you achieve anything in life. Upon reaching out, Bezos lets you know that he’s sending an autographed copy of his book, Invent and Wander, and encourages you to read it when you have a chance. He also mentions that he’d like to hang out with you as much as you’d like and that he will re-arrange his schedule to do so.
How many of us would make time for him, or any person of influence or import who offered us these things? Yet the creator of the universe and redeemer of our souls, we don’t have time for…. A life of gratitude is a life of relationship.
When we live with gratitude, we live for God. If we’re grateful, we will value what God wants over what we want. This is not to say this will never cost us, but that it will be worth it.
Finally, a life of true gratitude is one where we finish well. Gratitude leads to longevity. Even in death, we experience God’s blessing and goodness.
