21 Days To Cultivate A Grateful HeartSample

Day 2: Gratitude is Good for Us 

Statistics show an attitude of gratitude can pave the way for better health, deeper relationships and increased productivity. One study showed that a five-minute a day gratitude journal can increase your long-term well-being by more than 10 percent. Psalm 116:17 (NIV) says “I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord.” In this passage the writer is responding to all that God has done. In his response he doesn’t know how to repay what God has done in His goodness. His response is genuine, a thank offering is what he has to offer. 

Have you ever stopped to think of your prayers fueled by gratitude as a thank offering? Sure, we can give our tithe, financially give to the needs around us, and serve with the talents and gifts we’ve been given, but a “thank offering” is a sweet sound to our Savior and costs us nothing but time. When we purpose our hearts to live thankfully and cultivate gratitude in our lives, it is a worthy response to the faithfulness of our loving Father. 

REFLECT: Take a minute and meditate on Colossians2:6–7 NIV 

Overflowing means full to the top and spilling over. How can we live full to the top and spilling over with gratitude? By expressing what we are thankful for to God and the people around us. What does a sacrifice of thanks look like for you? 

RESPOND: Grab your journal, notebook or piece of paper from yesterday and begin to add to the list. Write out five things you’re grateful for but let them be a sacrifice. Try not to write the obvious ones like your favorite people or things. 

Let’s truly sacrifice a thank offering. A sacrifice means it hurts a little (or a lot). Thank Him for the things that hurt a little (or a lot) today. Pray those back to Him, thanking and praising Him for them.