The Power Of Gratitude – Bible Verses About Gratitude
Something that all of us always will benefit from if we choose to live by it is the power of gratitude. Here are some Bible verses about gratitude that teach us different things about thankfulness.
What Is Gratitude?
According to Oxford Languages, gratitude is the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
Being thankful is such a good quality that prevents us from complaining and keeps us from focusing on the negative things in life.
Thinking thankful thoughts can change our attitude and can really make a challenging day so much easier to go through. I have realized that when I choose to be thankful instead of complaining, a typical “bad” day can turn and become a better day.
However, choosing to be grateful is not always an easy thing to do. Even if we understand that gratitude is very powerful it doesn’t mean that it is always easy to be grateful and express thankfulness.
Good Things Can Be Challenging To Live Out
“Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until he has something to forgive.”
C. S. Lewis
Some things in life that are so good for us and that should be a foundational part of our lives are not always that easy. One example of that is forgiveness. Even if we know that forgiveness is such a blessing, there will be moments in our lives when choosing to forgive is challenging.
Same thing with gratitude. Even if we teach our children to be thankful and we know that gratitude is very powerful, having a grateful heart can be challenging at times.
Bible Verses About Gratitude
There are so many Bible verses about gratitude and from all of them there is something that we can learn. In this blog post, we will look at some of them.
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Give thanks in all circumstances. I have said it in previous blog posts and I say it again, 😉 the Bible verses in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 have challenged me so many times. Having a grateful heart in all circumstances helps us to keep our focus on the most important things.
When we go through harder times it is easy to start to focus on the challenges around us and soon the challenges seem to grow and get bigger and impossible to handle. At those times it can help to just think about all the things that we are blessed with. Even when life is hard there are still things to be thankful for.
These verses also remind us that we don’t have to be grateful FOR everything but IN every circumstance we get to give thanks to God for being so good and so faithful, even when life is challenging.
Having Gratitude Opens Up For Peace
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
Colossians 3:15
Having peace and being grateful are so tightly linked. When we have a grateful heart, the peace of Christ can rule in our hearts.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7
In every situation, we get to present our requests to God with thanksgiving. When we choose to come to God when life is hard, then his peace can guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
So when we have a grateful heart we make it possible for the peace that surpasses all understanding to rule in our hearts.
Sometimes we think that peace only can be present in the absence of trouble. But with a grateful heart, and through surrendering our lives to God, we can have the peace of Christ even in hard moments.
When we choose to let go of control and present our requests to God, we allow him to fill us with his joy and peace. Even when our circumstances tell us that we should be worried, we can experience his peace.
God’s Love Endures Forever – Bible Verses About Gratitude
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Psalm 118:29
God deserves our thankfulness. God has always been good and he will always be good.
I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
Psalm 9:1
We get to give God our thanks and we also get to tell of all his wonderful deeds to the people around us.
Benefits Of Gratitude
Studies have investigated how gratitude affects us. Taking time to think thoughts of thankfulness actually causes physiological changes in our bodies. The part of the nervous system that helps us to rest and digest is activated when we choose to think thankful thoughts.
Gratitude can help bring down blood pressure and heart rate. I think it is so cool that you can see that what the Bible tells us sometimes is evident in such concrete ways as how our body responds when we live in the ways the Bible tells us to live.
God created us and he knows that a grateful heart is something that is so good for us. He designed us in a way that we through gratitude can experience peace in all circumstances.
Habits Of Gratitude
As we said at the beginning of this blog post, having a grateful heart can be easier said than done sometimes.
In times when life is heavy and our circumstances are hard, there are a few things that can help us remember to be grateful.
- Journaling, one thing I have learned that helps me and encourages me to be thankful is to journal. If we have a habit of writing down things we are thankful for regularly, we can be reminded to not take things for granted.
- Expressing gratitude out loud. On days that challenge us greatly it can be helpful to tell a friend or someone else close to us what we are thankful for. Sometimes just talking out loud puts things into perspective. Challenges get smaller when we share them and blessings get bigger.
- Start your day thanking God. Starting our day telling God what we are thankful for, sets the tone for the day. Starting our day with a grateful heart makes room for peace to rule in our hearts.
This Is The Day That The Lord Has Made
“This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Psalm 118:24
This is a verse that some of us have heard so many times that it almost loses its meaning. Sometimes when we hear something many times it’s almost like we get blinded to what is actually said.
Acknowledging that every day is a gift from God is a good foundation to stand on. This is the day that the Lord has made. Because of that, we get to express gratitude and joy.
More Encouraging Bible Verses
If you found this blog post encouraging, feel free to follow this coming link to see the other blog posts that we have published on this website that are similar to this one: https://underbartskapad.com/category/encouraging-bible-verses-en/
We hope that this website will be a place to be reminded of who God is and who he created us to be. God created you with so much intention and your life has purpose. We publish a new blog post every week so we hope to see you again soon.
Hope you will have a blessed rest of your week!
Many greetings from us at Wonderfully made
Sources:
1. The Association between Gratitude and Depression: A Meta-Analysis. Jo A Iodice, John M Malouff* and Nicola S Schutte
2. https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/health-benefits-gratitude
