Save as PDFGratitude is far more than good manners. It is the natural response of a heart that has understood grace, and it changes how we see everything else.
“In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus towards you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (WEB)
Notice that Paul says in everything, not for everything. We aren’t asked to be thankful for pain or loss. We are asked to give thanks in the middle of them, because God is still good and still at work.
In this post we’ll look at three things: why we have every reason to be grateful, how gratitude leaves little room for anger and fear, and how it opens our eyes to see life and its opportunities differently. Think of gratitude as a pair of glasses: the world doesn’t change when you put them on, but suddenly you can see it clearly.
Why We Have Every Reason to Be Grateful
Our gratitude starts with who God is and what he has done, not with how our week is going.
From the first pages of Scripture, everything we have is a gift. God created the world and called it “very good” (Genesis 1:31). James reminds us that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17, WEB). Breath, food, friendship and the beauty of creation all come from his hand.
Yet the greatest gift is grace. When we turned away from God, he did not turn away from us. He sent his Son to die for our sins and rise again, so that we could be forgiven and brought home (1 Corinthians 15:3–4; Ephesians 2:8–9). That is why Paul, after writing about generosity, bursts out:
“Now thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift!”
2 Corinthians 9:15 (WEB)
Grace is the deepest root of gratitude. Our circumstances will rise and fall, but the gift of salvation in Christ never changes. As the psalmist sings:
“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.”
Psalm 107:1 (WEB)
Growing Through Trials
Gratitude in hard seasons is possible because God uses trials to grow us.
It is easy to be thankful when life goes well. Scripture goes further and asks us to rejoice even in difficulty, not because suffering is good in itself, but because of what God does through it:
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
James 1:2–4 (WEB)
Paul traces the same pattern:
“Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
Romans 5:3–5 (WEB)
Think of a gardener pruning a vine. The cuts look like loss, but they make room for fruit. Looking back on our hardest seasons, many of us can see how God shaped our character, deepened our trust and drew us closer to him. Gratitude in trials is trusting that he is doing that work now, even before we can see it.
Gratitude Leaves No Room for Anger and Fear
A heart that is truly thankful has little room left for anger or fear to take hold.
Try holding a clenched fist and an open hand at the same time. You can’t. Anger and fear clench; gratitude opens. When we are full of thanks for what God has given, it becomes very hard to stay bitter about what we lack or anxious about what might happen.
Gratitude and anger
Anger usually grows from a sense that we’ve been wronged or deprived. Gratitude reminds us how much we have been given, and especially how much we have been forgiven. Scripture is honest that anger itself is not always sin: “Be angry, and don’t sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath” (Ephesians 4:26, WEB). But a grateful heart doesn’t let anger settle in and grow into resentment. Paul puts thankfulness and peace side by side: “let the peace of God rule in your hearts … and be thankful” (see Colossians 3:15).
Gratitude and fear
Fear looks ahead and imagines the worst. Gratitude looks back and remembers God’s faithfulness, and that changes how we face what’s ahead. Paul gives a clear path:
“In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6–7 (WEB)
Thanksgiving is part of the cure for anxiety. When we thank God for who he is and what he has done, our fears are put back in proportion, and his peace stands guard over our hearts.
Paul lived this. Beaten and locked in stocks in a Philippian jail, he and Silas didn’t rage or despair:
“But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.”
Acts 16:25 (WEB)
Their gratitude was a witness. Other people were listening, and they still are.
Seeing Life and Opportunities Differently
Gratitude changes what we notice: instead of fixing on what’s missing, we start to see God’s hand and the opportunities he places in front of us.
When Jesus healed ten men of leprosy, all ten were made well, but only one came back:
“One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice. He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan.”
Luke 17:15–16 (WEB)
All ten received the same gift, but only one saw it for what it was. Gratitude is the difference between receiving a blessing and recognising it.
Joseph is another picture of this. Sold by his brothers, falsely accused and forgotten in prison, he could have become bitter. Instead, years later he could say to those same brothers:
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to save many people alive, as is happening today.”
Genesis 50:20 (WEB)
That is the outlook gratitude gives. It trusts the promise that “all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28, WEB). A setback can become a turning point. An interruption can become an opportunity to serve. A closed door can point us towards a better one.
Gratitude also brings contentment, which frees us to make decisions from peace rather than from fear or envy:
“Not that I speak because of lack, for I have learnt in whatever state I am, to be content in it.”
Philippians 4:11 (WEB)
Notice the word learnt. Contentment and gratitude aren’t personality traits some people are born with. They are habits we grow into, with God’s help.
Putting It Into Practice
These five simple habits help gratitude become part of everyday life.
- Start with grace. Each morning, thank God first for salvation in Christ, the gift that never changes (2 Corinthians 9:15).
- Name three gifts each day, at least one of them small. Write down three specific things you’re thankful for. Specific beats general: “the phone call from my friend” rather than “friends.” The small one is especially important, reminding us of new grace every day. God’s mercies “are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22–23, WEB).
- Pray with thanksgiving. When you bring a worry to God, begin by thanking him for something he has already done (Philippians 4:6).
- Look back on hard seasons. Ask how God has grown you through past trials, and thank him for that growth (Romans 5:3–5).
- Say thank you to people. Gratitude grows when it’s spoken. Tell someone today how they’ve blessed you.
When you notice anger or fear rising, pause and ask: What can I thank God for right now? It won’t always change the situation, but it will change how you stand in it.
Gratitude to the Glory of God
Gratitude turns our attention from ourselves to the Giver, and that is where it brings God glory.
“Whether therefore you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31 (WEB)
The Samaritan who returned to Jesus came back “glorifying God with a loud voice” (Luke 17:15, WEB). Every time we give thanks, we are doing the same: pointing back to the One every good gift comes from. And the story isn’t finished. One day God will make all things new (Revelation 21:5), and we will spend eternity giving thanks. Gratitude now is practice for then.
A Prayer
Father, thank you for your unspeakable gift, your Son Jesus, and for the grace I could never earn. Thank you for every good gift in my life, and for growing me even through hard seasons. When I’m tempted to be angry or afraid, help me to remember your faithfulness and give thanks. Open my eyes to see your hand at work and the opportunities you place before me. May my thankful heart bring glory to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
For Reflection
- What gift from God have you received but not yet stopped to recognise?
- Looking back on a hard season, how did God grow you through it?
- Where is anger or fear taking hold right now, and what could you thank God for in that situation?
Read more in the Tough Conversations series: Forgiven to Forgive: How Grace Teaches Us Compassion.
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (British Edition), public domain.
