In today’s hectic world, it’s easy to take everyday blessings for granted.
With so many demands on us—ranging from jobs to kids to health issues and much more—we tend to forget that, in almost all cases, things could worse.
I often find myself midway through my day before I even pause long enough to think about all the good things going on in my life.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges and struggles—there certainly are. However, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any situation where you can’t be grateful for something.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, God actually commands us to be thankful for His blessings.
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
The Scriptures also say in Colossians 3:17:
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.
In these two verses, we find that no matter what situation we find ourselves in, we are to be grateful.
I believe there are several reasons that God tells us this.
Not only does our gratitude bring God glory, it also has practical benefits. Being grateful for what we have, even when things look bleak, can help us be more joyful, content, and focused.
Research at Syracuse University concluded that showing gratitude will help you be more positive and can lead to reduced depression and anxiety.
That’s good news for sure!
When our minds are freed up from depression and anxiety, we can then replace all the old negative thoughts with the positive things in our life.
In Philippians 4:8, we’re reminded to think about:
whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise.
Pointing our mind to the good things in life is the perfect companion to practicing gratitude. This 1-2 punch is a knockout to feelings of doom and gloom.
The Center for NeuroWellness believes that there are at least seven ways that gratitude rewires our brains.
Among these are the ability of gratitude to strengthen positive neural pathways in our brain. The brain actually adapts to positivity, a trait known as neuroplasticity.
This means that the more grateful we are over time, the happier and more well adjusted we’ll feel.
Positivity builds more feelings of positivity. It’s like a good Catch-22. We do our future selves a favor when we show God gratitude because this actually forms new, positive neural pathways in the brain.
However, gratitude is also good for our physical bodies. It benefits our health in many ways.
First of all, being grateful triggers our parasympathetic nervous system, which helps lower our heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate so we reduce stress and are able to relax.
In addition, oxytocin is released when we’re grateful, which also helps lower blood pressure and protect our heart health.
Gratitude can boost our immune system as well. It reduces levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that can actually suppress the immune system.
Life Extension Magazine details how gratitude has also been linked to an increase in Immunoglobulin A, an antibody critical in helping the immune system fight diseases and viruses.
We see that showing God gratitude for all He has done in our lives is good for us in many ways.
Not to mention that it is also God’s will that we do this.
So follow God’s command, and do something good for yourself at the same time by showing Him gratitude today.
Along Bumpy Roads 