Breathe AgainSample

An Invitation to Gratitude

What if we saw God’s command to give thanks not as a controlling order but as a loving plea from the One who knows what’s best for us? Live gratefully, my child, because when you do, all these promises are yours, and I so want you to experience all I have for you. 

God turns our gratitude into goodness, adds peace to our pain, and provides strength in our struggles. We don’t need to see things differently to be grateful; rather, we must be grateful to see things differently. And when we do, when we see it all and give thanks for it all at all times, “Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down” (Philippians 4:7 MSG). 

What if we treated practicing gratitude in the same way we train for a marathon—in daily steps toward a greater goal? What if we stopped waiting to feel grateful and were grateful anyway, believing God is good? Gratitude is nothing more than the act of giving thanks before we might feel like it. 

When our pain screams, our gratitude must shout louder—not to deny it but to drown it out with praise. When we’re fighting addiction, experiencing chronic pain, enduring chemo, or overwhelmed with caring for an aging parent, gratitude is hard, but it is possible. Practicing gratitude is an intentional act of faith, saying yes to God’s command and will for our lives. Like so many steps of faith, it brings blessing as we plant our feet in front of us, however tentatively, remembering two steps forward and one step back is still progress. 

I still struggle to run when I haven’t got the energy, and I’m still learning to be grateful even when I don’t feel it. I’m still learning to lean into the cracks and tears of my life and choose to thank God for them. It’s not easy but it is possible, and as William Wordsworth is rumored to have said, “To begin, begin.” Let’s dive in, whether we feel like it or not, knowing and trusting the water we dive into is the living, life-giving water of the One whose abundance we crave. 

What are five things you can be grateful for today? What is something you could do to make gratitude more of a habit in your life?