Gratitude: The Path to Joy
The holidays are upon us! With busy days, festivities, and family gatherings ahead, you may feel anything from excitement to dread or happiness to grief. This season evokes a host of different emotions in us, and that’s ok. The Lord welcomes both our laughter and lament as we journey through life in this beautiful, fallen world. But one practice God commands of his children in every circumstance is thanksgiving.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:15-17).
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Life in this sin-cursed world is hard. We face loss, seasons of depression, the ache of loneliness, exhaustion, pain, relational struggles, parenting discouragement, and the list goes on. Yet, giving thanks in all circumstances befits the Christian. Why? Because in Christ we are rich beyond comprehension. Through our union with him, we have peace with God and possess every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3). Part of our spiritual blessedness is the indwelling Holy Spirit, and by his power we can (and must) choose to cultivate hearts of gratitude every day.
Where do Christians begin in this cultivation process? First, we fix our eyes on the cross by letting “the word of Christ dwell in [us] richly” (Col. 3:16). It’s through Christ’s perfect sacrifice that God has lavished his undeserved mercy and grace upon us. We’ve been chosen, loved, adopted, forgiven, redeemed, and given an imperishable inheritance (Eph. 1). We’re headed toward eternity in a world made new—a world of glory and bliss with no sin and suffering. We grow in gratitude by meditating on these spiritual blessings, teaching them to our brothers and sisters in Christ, and singing about them together.
Next, we take note of the innumerable gifts of God’s common grace: sunshine and rain, foods that delight, the beauty of nature and music, warm houses, soft beds, family and friends, modern medicines and a thousand other gifts, big and small. Think about them. List them out. Thank the Lord for them. Keep record of the resources and relationships God has entrusted to you. Lean into them, and seek to make a return on the investment even when life feels hard.
We can’t always change our difficult circumstances, but research shows that gratitude is strongly associated with greater happiness. In other words, thankful people are joyful people. Thankfulness is a medicine the Great Physician prescribes for his children—a way of escape from self-pity, bitterness, worry, discontentment, and a host of other sins that tempt us. Gratitude grounded in gospel hope is a sacrifice that pleases the Lord (Psalm 50:14-15). It makes our trials easier to bear and our pleasures even sweeter. Gratitude reminds us that the conflict, sorrow, exhaustion, and unfulfilled longings of today will not last forever. And the feasting, fellowship, family, and friends we enjoy are just the tiniest foretaste of all that is to come for those in Christ. Gratitude is a guardrail against sheer misery and a pathway to true joy.
Lord, we give you thanks because you are good, and your steadfast love endures forever! Grow us in gratitude–-for your glory and our good. Amen.
