When Gratitude Doesn’t Work
Is developing the habit of gratitude worth the effort to you?
Verse of the Day
“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.”
Today’s Devotional
There are times in our lives when we have to decide what is actually important to us. Over the last few days as I have been researching and writing about gratitude, I have felt a heaviness that I haven’t felt in awhile. My human brain has had the audacity to give me some really untruthful messages.
“Gratitude doesn’t actually work.”
“This gratitude stuff is a waste of your time.”
“Being grateful isn’t making you feel any better today, so why keep doing it, much less writing about it?”
Despite these very loud and repetitive messages over the last couple of days, God has given me so much evidence in my life of the importance of sticking with the stuff that works. So when I FEEL like it isn’t working, what do I do?
If I’m being honest, sometimes I give up. But not today, and certainly not with gratitude. I am passionate about the power of the Word and the power of gratitude. Using both of those in combination with consistency has absolutely changed my life. (That’s not to say I have achieved anything even close to perfect consistency. I am so very human.)
If we use today’s verse as a guide, there are some great ideas that we can actually implement from this one verse. The first is to be devoted. If I am devoted to something, there is a “no matter what” quality to my actions. I can choose to make a gratitude list, read my Bible, pray, journal, and talk with other believers whether I feel like it or not. When I don’t feel like doing any of those things, or I’m “too busy”, I need to be willing to force myself to do it anyway. And when I can’t force myself, I must be willing to drop to my knees to ask for help. That’s devotion.
The second idea from this verse is to be devoted specifically to prayer. For me, that implies a devotion to my relationship with God. I need to be committed to talking to Him, spending time with Him, praising Him, and thanking Him – no matter what. When I feel a heaviness or an opposition, I need to double down, prioritizing my relationship with God above everything else on my list for that day.
Third, we are told to have an alert mind. What does that mean? For me, it implies awareness. I need to be willing to take a step back from my thoughts and actions and look at myself objectively. Am I asking God to help me see myself with clarity? Can I spot the lies I am believing? I definitely cannot spot the lies if I’m not alert to be looking for them. I believe that when we try to make God our #1 priority, the devil gets scared. Peter tells us to “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8 )
The last idea from today’s verse is to have a thankful heart. This implies that the gratitude I have spoken and written has traveled from my head down to my heart. Gratitude has become part of who I am. THIS TAKES TIME AND CONSISTENT PRACTICE. I have to have a grateful mind and mouth over and over again to have a grateful heart.
In a study done at UC-Berkeley, there are some scientific findings about gratitude that make me want to be devoted to the practice of gratitude.
- Gratitude unshackles us from toxic emotions. This was especially true when people used fewer negative emotion words in their thoughts, speech, and writing.
- Gratitude helps even if you don’t share it with another human. (Some participants in this study were asked to write letters of gratitude to a certain number of people. The positive benefits of gratitude were noted even when these letters were not sent.)
- The benefits of practicing gratitude take time to show up. (Hence the need for devotion. And why we should practice gratitude even when we don’t feel like it or we think it won’t work.)
- Gratitude has lasting positive effects on the brain. These findings were proven by comparing MRI imaging of the brains of people who practiced gratitude versus people who did not.
The moral of the story is that gratitude works. Period. Even when I don’t feel like it’s working. Even when there is every reason not to practice being grateful. God says to be grateful. Science proves the value of being grateful. My choice is whether or not to obey.
Today’s Gratitude Challenge 1: Is there a friend in life for whom you are grateful? Proverbs 27:9 says, “The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.” Friendship is a gift. Friends can say things that family members can’t, and often we will listen more closely to a friend. Friends are who we laugh with, play with, cry with, and choose to share our lives with. As you think about friends that you are grateful for, ask God to show you how to be a good friend to them. And to anyone new He places in your life.
Today’s Gratitude Challenge 2: Laughter. When was the last time you had a good laugh? Psalms 126:2 says, “Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”” If I’m reading that verse correctly, then even our laughter can point people to God. How and why are you grateful for laughter?
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
What do you do no matter what?
Based on your actions, what are you devoted to? Does that need to change at all?
How can you be devoted to your relationship with God?
How can you practice having an alert mind?
Do you behave and think as though you have a grateful heart?
Is there a friend in life for whom you are grateful? Who is it and why are you grateful for this person?
How and why are you grateful for laughter?