Our thankfulness glorifies God and honors Him: “The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me” (Psalm 50:23). Puritan John Boys echoed the sentiment of the psalmist, noting that as the Lord loves a cheerful giver, He likewise loves a cheerful thanksgiver. However, God is not the only one affected when we express appreciation; doing so promotes a year-round gratitude practice that transforms our perspective.
Psychological research supports this shift. In one study, undergraduates completed a survey measuring happiness and thankfulness. Over six weeks, participants recorded five things they were grateful for each week. This simple habit had a dramatic effect on their happiness scores, leading researchers to conclude that students who regularly express gratitude show significant increases in overall well-being.
While secular books document the role of thankfulness in mental health, cultivating gratitude in life proves difficult for those whose worldview leaves them with no one to thank for existence itself. One can thank a friend for a favor or a teacher for a lesson, but to whom does one owe thanks for sunshine, breath, and the capacity for joy? Without a sovereign God, people are left thanking “lucky stars” or random circumstances. Because these objects of gratitude are finite, the capacity for lasting happiness remains limited.
God’s common grace offers unbelievers a degree of happiness that’s greatly enhanced through thankfulness. As Christ-followers, however, we find gratitude multiplied when we return it to God, the ultimate and primary source of all goodness. In Choosing Gratitude, Nancy Leigh DeMoss writes, “True gratitude, Christian gratitude, doesn’t exist in a vacuum; it has an Object.”
God gives us hundreds of reasons to be grateful every hour—and if you think I’m exaggerating, ask Him to make you aware of His gracious provisions surrounding you. Developing the habit and discipline of gratitude results in greater praise to God and greater happiness for ourselves. When life’s tough, we can be grateful that God is with us in our suffering, that He’s using it for our good, and that He promises to end it once and for all.
Keep your own happiness journal. Record God’s evident goodness around you every day. You’ll find that in time, you’ll see more and more gifts from Him—not because there are more, but because you’re finally seeing what has been there all along.
A. W. Tozer wrote, “Gratitude is an offering precious in the sight of God, and it is one that the poorest of us can make and be not poorer but richer for having made it.”
God, eternity won’t be long enough to thank you for all you’ve given us and all you will give us in the ages to come. May we not wait until we see you for our every breath to be filled with gratitude for the saving work of Jesus . . . along with every secondary gift you give us. May our hearts overflow with gratitude to you each day!
This article originally appeared on epm.org and is reposted here by permission.