What is Christian Gratitude?

Gratitude may be the most over-used wellness buzz word of our time. It fits into any world view. Eastern religions value the practice of gratitude as a meditative state. They teach that gratitude for one’s resources produces a spirit of goodness within the grateful heart. Even the agnostic can practice gratitude. They would say that believers (of any deity) bind their gratefulness by designating it toward only one being. They believe that their expression of gratefulness is wider and more expansive than that of a believer. But what is Christian gratitude? Is it somehow different from this concept of gratitude that’s practiced by everyone else in the world? Let’s take a look.

GRATITUDE IN TIMES OF FEAR

I lived through years of pain and fear. In my mid-thirties, when I expected to be having babies and joyfully caring for my growing family, I found myself physically debilitated. For four years, every three months on average, I collected a new diagnosis. I lived in constant fear of the next thing to come. My body was broken and stuck in a cycle of immune disfunction. At thirty-six years of age, I had a rheumatologist, oncologist, hematologist, gastroenterologist, endocrinologist, and neurologist…all of whom I saw regularly.

When I was thirty-eight, we discovered that the root of my immune disfunction was exposure to toxic mold. I left all those many doctors behind. They had never offered answers; only expensive tests and drugs to mask my many symptoms. Through avoidance and targeted holistic care, I began to get better. I still lived in fear, though. I lived in three month cycles, waiting for the next thing to drop. Even after a year with no new diagnoses, I still found myself afraid. My functional nutritionist turned me toward the practice of gratitude.

At that particular time in my life, my gratitude practice was no different from anyone else’s. As a Christian, I directed my gratitude toward God, but I was still focusing on material goods and the physical world around me as I found reasons to be grateful. I don’t want to fully discredit this practice. It did help me. Over time, I learned to rest in a state of gratitude. I learned to appreciate my immediate blessings. I learned to let go of fear and instead focus on thankfulness in the present moment. This practice was beneficial to me, but later, I realized that this was not the fulness of Christian gratitude.

GRATITUDE IN TIMES OF SPIRITUAL TRIAL

A year ago, my family experienced church hurt. I hear about things like this all the time. Churches are full of imperfect, sinful people. Sometimes, even in “the church,” Christians hurt each other. Sometimes, Christians gossip and lie and harbor anger toward one another. When this kind of brokenness interrupts church ministry, it also inevitably creates a spiritual trial within the hearts of those involved. My husband is a pastor. I’m “the pastor’s wife.” We were not immune to the hurt present within our church. On the contrary. Church is our whole world. We felt the hurt deeply.

Because my hurt began at church, I found that I had a hard time entering church. I didn’t want to walk through the doors. I did. Every Sunday, I showed up. Sometimes I cried before going inside. Other times, I shut myself off emotionally. While I showed up for worship and Sunday morning bible class, I chose to skip other events. I backed out of positions in which I used to serve. I’m not saying that any of this was right. This part is not advice for handling church hurt. It’s just my experience.

While all of this was going on, I knew that I needed to find a way to heal my heart. I decided to double down on my gratitude practice. I purchased a gratitude journal from Amazon. Within myself, I found gratitude for my husband’s job, gratitude for our church building, and gratitude for the place in which our church is planted. While this type of worldly gratitude was able to overcome my prior state of fear, it did nothing to heal my heart in these circumstances. I needed something more. I needed another dimension of gratitude.

CHRISTIAN GRATITUDE

So what is Christian gratitude? I’ve come to the conclusion that Christian gratitude is not found within ourselves. Christian gratitude is a state of being in response to who God is, what God does, and who we are in Christ. This gives the word “gratitude” a whole new dimension. Both kinds of gratitude induce a state of thankfulness, but thankfulness alone did not heal my heart. This new form of gratitude created within me a readiness to serve. It led me to find contentment in the current circumstances of my husband’s ministry. This new type of gratitude left me resting in a state of trust. God knows my hurt. He knows my heart. But his love and provision do not change like the emotional tides of a church. God is the same yesterday and today and forever.

AN EXAMPLE OF HOW I THINK ABOUT CHRISTIAN GRATITUDE

• Gratitude for who God is: SHEPHERD
  • “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” John 10:11
• Gratitude for what God does: STRENGTHENS
  • “Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel – he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!” Psalm 68:35
• Gratitude for who I am in Christ: CHOSEN
  • “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9

When I feel the need to induce a state of Christian gratitude, I jot down notes similar to those above. I choose a name that identifies who God is to his people. I find a bible verse to speak this truth back to me. In a similar way, I choose a verb that exemplifies the work that God does for me. Sometimes these verbs are past tense. The work has already been completed. In other cases, like this example of “strength,” I like to put the verb in an active state. It is ongoing. God strengthens me daily. Finally, the last example is a reminder of my Christian identity. These words tell me who I am in Christ. Together, these three examples help to shape my state of being as a response to who God is, what he does, and who I am in Christ.

IS THIS HELPFUL IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES?

Since learning to lean on this dimension of gratitude, I’ve found that it greatly surpasses any practice I’ve pursued previously. Let’s once again look at fear as an example. I can find gratefulness in my ability to draw breath. I can be grateful for the practitioners who guide my care. Perhaps I can even be grateful for the knowledge I’ve gained through my years of illness. All of these things help to shape a sense of thankfulness. I can frame a house of blessings in which to stand. But what happens when a new diagnosis comes? Is that framework strong enough to withstand the shaking ground?

But if, in the face of fear, I meditate on who God is, what God does, and who I am in Christ, the exercise may look like this:

• Gratitude for who God is: MIRACLE WORKER
  • “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgements he uttered.” Psalm 105: 4-5
• Gratitude for what God does: COMFORTS
  • “For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” 2 Corinthians 1:5.
• Gratitude for who I am in Christ: COMPLETE
  • “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3: 16-17

When I look to God instead of inside myself, I see that the God of miracles offers me comfort through his son. Even with a broken body, God’s word makes me complete, “equipped for every good work.” That doesn’t just induce a sense of thankfulness. It brings a sense of confidence. And isn’t that a stronger weapon against fear?

CLOSING THOUGHTS

In Philippians 4: 6-9, Paul writes:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, 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, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

While it may have taken me years to discover this dimension of Christian gratitude, it’s not unique to my mind and my heart. Paul reminds us that all requests brought before God should be brought with a spirit of thanksgiving. He also tells us to focus our minds on things that would induce a spirit of gratitude – truth, honor, justice, purity, loveliness, excellence, etc. These things are not born from within ourselves. They are seen in the character of God. They exemplify who God is, what God does, and who we are in Christ.

Find gratitude, then, not within your heart, but within the character of God. True thankfulness lies in knowing God, and looking to him, that we might reflect his heart rather than our own.