Did you know that one of the most repeated commands in Scripture is “give thanks”? (The most repeated command is “fear not”.)
A good example of this at a glance is Psalm 107. Psalm 107 reminds us in verses 8, 15, 21, and 31: “Give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind.”
Let’s dig into the biblical theme of “giving thanks” (or gratefulness, gratitude, thankfulness, etc.)
In this article, we’ll 1) consider a few Bible passages, then 2) look at a helpful analogy. Then 3) we’ll explore a couple of the practical benefits of gratefulness. Lastly, 4) we’ll conclude with an exercise to practice thanksgiving.
Scriptures that Point Us Towards Thankfulness
In the New Testament, Christians are repeatedly called to be thankful people. For example, here are just a few of the many New Testament passages calls for thankfulness.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 2:6-7: So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Colossians 3:15-17: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
And so, we can clearly see a biblical demand for Christians to be both habitually grateful (making intentional thanks to God) and characteristically grateful (being a person who is marked by thanksgiving.)
So…for what are Christians to be grateful? Again, there are a lot of verses we could examine. We’re just going to look at a few. (My comments in grey for visual clarity.)
James 1:17: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, Who does not change like shifting shadows.
There is no truly good thing in your life that isn’t from God. He is the source, the origin, of all goodness. From the smell of garlic and olive oil in a skillet, to the warmth of sunshine, to the existence of your favorite people (or your own existence!), all good things are from Him.
Romans 8:28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.
And God is also the only One Who can bring redemption to the hurts and sorrows of our life. For God’s people, there is no sorrow or suffering that will not ultimately be redeemed. (For more on this, please read this article.)
Matthew 28:20b: And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
And this God – the God who gives us every good thing in our life, and redeems every sorrow in our life – He isn’t far away. He is with us. We don’t serve some distant king in a palace far away; our God is with us, closer than our skin.
Romans 5:8: But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
And we don’t deserve any of that goodness or redemption or nearness. God has shown His love for us by dying for us when we were still completely lost in our moral and spiritual failure. He is good towards us because He is good, not because we deserve it.
So, taken altogether: We are commanded to be habitually grateful and characteristically grateful, and we have an inexhaustible list of reasons for which we can be grateful.
With all this in mind: Why are there so many Christians that don’t seem to be characteristically grateful?
A Helpful Analogy – Gratefulness and Bicycles
Gratefulness is like a bicycle. A bicycle’s default position is stationary. To get anywhere, you got to put some effort into it. When you do put effort into it, it’s really nice! It’s fun, it’s good for you, and it can take you where you want to go.
But, if you stop exerting effort, it quickly will go back to being stationary.
Gratefulness is a lot like that. Very few people live in, by default, a place of sufficient gratitude. To be a grateful person, you’ve got to put effort into it. The gratefulness that God calls us to is one that is active, not passive. Once you do, it’s life-giving: You’ll realize its enjoyable (because it leads you towards joy), and it’s good for your soul. Gratefulness will take you to places in your walk with God that without it would be impossible. And yet, again like a bicycle, when you stop putting effort into being grateful, you’ll quickly go back to being stationary, or in this case, ungrateful.
(Granted, the analogy can’t go much further: People can’t live their whole lives on their bikes. But we are supposed to live in constant gratefulness.)
A Few (of the Many) Practical Benefits of Gratefulness
Thankfulness is one of the essential components of relational health.
You don’t get tired of the persons or objects or opportunities for which you’re grateful.
If a married couple is struggling in their marriage, one of the solutions will be for both people to start daily expressing thanks to the other person, and to God for the other person. (Granted, practicing gratefulness will almost always be only one of the changes needed to get a marriage back to where it ought to be.)
To provide another example: When I got my driving license at 16, I was ecstatic. Driving with the windows down and the music up was fun, and I loved the freedom that being able to drive afforded me. I loved driving. As the years went on, and especially when I had a job delivering medical samples while in seminary, driving lost its luster for me. I began to see driving as chore rather than a privilege. I stopped being grateful for it!
Gratitude will guard your heart, your marriage, your joy, and your relationship with God in a way that is irreplaceable and essential.
Even medical science is beginning to see the importance of gratefulness! (For example, this Harvard article shows how older adults who experienced gratitude regularly had a notably longer life expectancy.)
Conclusion – Gratefulness Exercise
Let’s slow down and be intentionally grateful to God for a few minutes.
Take a few moments to think through (or write down) the following questions:
1. What are the parts of my life for which I regularly thank God?
2. What are parts of my life that I take for granted, that I seldom think to thank God?
3. What are the bad parts of my life? Do I let these things limit my gratefulness to God? How might God redeem these things?
4. What distracts or prevents you from regularly practicing gratefulness?
5. Ask God to show you how you can start practicing gratitude on a regular basis. What is He saying to you?
Let’s conclude this exercise by praying the opening of Psalm 103 together.
Psalm 103:1-4: Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all His benefits — who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.
Amen and amen. Oh my soul, do not forget His benefits, how He’s redeemed my life and has shown me love and compassion that I have never and will never deserve. He is good.
For more articles on similar topics, please see:
– When Joy Seems Out of Reach
– Philippians 4: Paul Shows Us How to Functionally Center Ourselves on God
– Godliness with Contentment
– On Joy and Hope
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