The Practice of Gratitude

Posted On November 20, 2022

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Philippians 4:8-9 NASB

“The mindset of gratitude doesn’t happen by accident. It’s not something you’ll stumble into, no matter how godly your friends are or how often you go to church.
You have to choose to be grateful. And gratitude becomes a habit when you keep choosing it day by day.”

The Weekly Gratitude Project

This week we conclude our three-part series on gratitude. Once again, I am drawing inspiration from The Weekly Gratitude Project, a guided journal which encourages us to be intentional about spending time giving thanks to God in order to “grow a more grateful heart and a faith that strengthens and deepens and inspires others.” So far, we’ve seen that gratitude can overcome despair and heal our hearts. We’ve learned that Christ is the reason we can always choose to be grateful. And now we examine how we can put thanksgiving into practice every day.

Start a List

“Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.”

1 Chronicles 29:13 NIV

In order to develop a habit of gratitude, we will need to be deliberate about giving thanks for the blessings in our lives. And a great way to do this is to start a list. Writing things down requires thought and effort, and forces us to focus on what we want to say. So let’s start there! We can always find something to record:

• Big Blessings – salvation through faith in Christ, relationships with family and friends, a safe place to live and worship
• Small Blessings – a kind word from a stranger, a good night’s sleep, a hug from your child
• Surprise Blessings – a new job or opportunity, an unexpected gift, hearing God’s voice in a way that astonishes you
• Recurring Blessings – food to eat, a monthly paycheck, good health
• Sure Blessings – God’s grace, God’s promises, God’s love

“Find a notebook or a blank piece of paper. Start with at least three new entries each day, asking yourself, ‘What am I thankful for?’
Think big. Think small. Write down your many reasons to give thanks.”

The Weekly Gratitude Project

Grow Your List

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”

Colossians 4:2 NIV

Once we’ve started, we’ve got to keep at it. Like any new habit, we must be consistent or we will soon find ourselves drifting away. I confessed before that I am not the best example to follow when it comes to gratitude, but I am trying to change that. In fact, my mom gave me a new gratitude journal earlier this year, and I was very excited to get it! I had good intentions of getting started listing blessings in it every day, but unfortunately, good intentions didn’t get me very far. It’s still sitting, full of blank pages, on the shelf. Consequently, I’m not as good at gratitude as I would like to be.

But I refuse to beat myself up about this, and if you are facing a similar struggle, neither should you. Maybe I haven’t filled up my new gratitude journal yet, but I have learned to begin my prayers with gratitude instead of launching into a list of wants or complaints. Even if I’m having a bad day, I still find myself giving thanks to God for His guidance and His presence. Looking back, I realize that I am better at gratitude than I used to be, and that’s worth celebrating! The main thing is to keep moving forward. As we learn to grow our list of reasons for giving thanks, we begin to grow a more grateful heart. And that’s the whole point. So don’t get discouraged if gratitude is still a struggle. It is for me, too. But with God’s help we can learn to get better at it. Don’t give up!

“Add to your list day by day. This is key. Once you’ve done this a while, you might start repeating yourself. That’s okay! A gift that’s returned every morning — grace, sunrises, breath — is no less valuable.
So write the rare things; write the recurring things. Keep giving thanks.”

The Weekly Gratitude Project

Read and Remember

“I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.”

Ephesians 1:16 NIV

Maybe, like me, you’ve wondered if writing everything down is really necessary. After all, can’t we just give thanks to God when we pray and move on? Do we really have to spend time recording everything? I’ve learned the hard way that the answer is yes. I haven’t begun writing in my new gratitude journal yet, but I have been journaling pretty faithfully for the past three years in what I call my Spirit Journal. It’s a combination of a prayer journal and a place to record notes on my daily devotionals and Scripture readings. It’s basically where I have learned to speak to God and hear Him speak to me.

But sometimes I am not as consistent with it as I should be. Recording everything every day is a very time consuming process, and some days I try to find a shortcut. Maybe I just say a quick prayer without writing it out. Maybe I do a couple of readings without recording any insights from them. And that’s okay . . . for that day. But then a day comes when I’m hit with hard circumstances or overwhelming anxiety or confusion about God’s plan, and I’ve got nothing to go back to. You see, I’ve learned that the true power of journaling lies in the ability to review what God has said and what God has done. When a tough day threatens to shake me up or steal my joy, I can go back to my journal and find help and answers. I can find comfort for my soul.

So, should we take the time to start writing down reasons for gratitude? Yes, we should. Because then we’ll have a tool to help us when we’re finding it hard to be thankful.

“Some days are harder than others. When discouragement clouds our vision, we can forget our many reasons to give thanks.
This is when your list comes in handy — and why it’s important to have a list! On the days you need help, read and be reminded of your gifts.”

The Weekly Gratitude Project

Offer a Sacrifice

“With Jesus’ help we will continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by telling others of the glory of his name. Don’t forget to do good and to share what you have with those in need, for such sacrifices are very pleasing to him.” 

Hebrews 13:15-16 TLB

This all sounds good, and I still have good intentions to fill up my gratitude journal! But what about those really hard days — the days when we just don’t have it in us to be grateful about anything? What do we do when we feel so broken that we’re finding it hard to get through the day, much less give thanks?

The answer is: We give thanks anyway.

This is hard. Really hard. In fact, it’s a sacrifice. And I believe it’s a sacrifice that pleases God very much. Because when we thank Him no matter how bad we are feeling, when we serve others even though we are also hurting, when we intentionally kneel before our God and praise Him in the midst of our troubles, God knows that we value Him above all else. And that means we are developing the kind of faith that can move mountains!

“Always having a reason to give thanks doesn’t mean giving thanks is always easy.
Some days, choosing gratitude for sure things — because desired things are off the table — is a sacrifice. It’s a pledge we make even when we don’t feel it because we know, no matter how we feel, God is worthy of our praise.”

The Weekly Gratitude Project

This week’s Scripture passages remind us to set our mind on things above and focus on gratitude. It’s not always easy to give thanks, but our God is always worthy of receiving it. So let’s start counting our blessings every day. Let’s sing to the Lord with gratitude in our heart. And let’s choose to be thankful in all circumstances. Because in Christ we are blessed beyond measure!

“Gratitude begins with a choice . . . . You can walk through life with your head down, wondering why you don’t have this and questioning whether you’ll ever have that.
Or you can look up, smile, and see that life in Jesus is a gift . . .
Every. Single. Day.”

The Weekly Gratitude Project

Reflections and writing prompts from The Weekly Gratitude Project:

~ “What are three small things you’re thankful for today? What are three big things you’re thankful for today?”

~ “What are some rare gifts you’ve received in the last year? What are some recurring gifts you receive each day or each week?”

~ “What sure things can you be grateful for, no matter what?”

~ “Make a game plan for the discouraging or disappointing days that will inevitably come. How will you set your mind on gratitude, even when you don’t feel grateful?”

~ “Have you ever made a sacrifice of praise to God? Are you in a season where it would be a sacrifice to praise and thank God now? Write a prayer of thanksgiving.”

“And now just as you trusted Christ to save you, trust him, too, for each day’s problems;
live in vital union with him.
Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him.
See that you go on growing in the Lord,
and become strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught.
Let your lives overflow with joy and thanksgiving for all he has done.”

Colossians 2:6-7 TLB

References:

• The Weekly Gratitude Project: A Challenge to Journal, Reflect, and Grow a Grateful Heart. Zondervan, 2020.

Images:

• Dried Rose featured image by Photo by Rose : https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-rose-in-close-up-photography-13733330/ (edited)
• Give Thanks image by Adam Winger on Unsplash
• Journal image by Gabrielle Henderson on Unsplash (edited)
• Coffee image by Jen P. on Unsplash (edited)
• Baby’s Breath image by Fiona Murray on Unsplash
• Dried Flowers image by sofy43 from Pixabay (edited)
• White Pumpkins image by Marianne Krohn on Unsplash