As I outlined this series back in mid-summer, I got to a place in the process where I had a list of all twelve topics, but wrestled with their order. When I paused long enough to see the bigger picture that God was painting, an out-loud “duh!” escaped my lips. Gratitude – the week of Thanksgiving!
And here we are. All those months later. It’s Thanksgiving Week. A time for friends and family to gather – to share traditions with one another, to eat holiday foods around a table or in front of a football game, to pause our busy lives and simply. be. together. While our prayers and toasts will most certainly echo themes of thankfulness, I’ve recently been pointed to this incredible truth: Gratitude is not just a feeling – but a habit.2
So, while this emotion-driven Momma will certainly feel ALL the emotions of thankfulness this week as our family comes together from across the miles, I want to live aware that gratitude is not meant to be boxed-in as a once-a-year feeling. It’s meant to be an everyday rhythm.
And just as every other abiding rhythm we employ in our lives of faith, gratitude isn’t intended to become a forced checkbox. Rather, we are to pick up that manna-grace each day and ask the Spirit of Christ to give us eyes and ears to notice God at work, to know God better, and to be moved into gratitude for all of it.
Gratitude as an Act of Faith
There’s a story in Luke seventeen where Jesus came across ten unclean lepers. From a distance, they called to Him, “‘Jesus, Master, have pity on us!’ When he saw them, he said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were cleansed” (vv.13-14).
Have pity on us! These outcasts had enough faith to ask Jesus for help.
As they went, they were cleansed. They had even more faith to turn toward Jerusalem to show the priests they were ‘clean’ before they were actually healed.
Talk about hearts of faith!
As they walked and healing set in, one leper turned back, praising God loudly. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him (vv.15-16). JD Walt urges us to look upon this leper as one who demonstrates a specific aspect of a heart of faith: gratitude.1
Paul understood gratitude as an act of faith, mentioning some form of thankfulness at least forty-nine times in his letters. In fact, he was great at modeling for the churches his own gratefulness, saying such things as, “I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 1:4). And he often exhorted them to do the same: “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17).
It feels safe to say that Paul understood the power of gratitude – that it’s a perspective changer and trust builder. He grasped that a heart full of gratitude is a heart of faith!
On the flip side, life coach and author, Jess Connolly, teaches that living without gratitude causes us to believe lies rather than truth. She goes on to list some of the impacts of living thankless:2
- We grow bitter toward God, assuming He’s not showing up for us.
- We begin each day from a perspective of lack instead of abundance.
- We believe those in relationships with us are out to get us – or that we’re always the one giving more.
- We live (or seem) entitled without meaning to.
- We assume everyone else is moving forward while we’re being left behind.2
When we close ourselves off from living thankfully, we live more influenced by lies than truth. And the spiral of such living deepens. Without gratitude, we become embittered, despairing, resentful, and full of assumptions – all of which rob us of hope, joy, and the ability to see the good God is doing around us.
In my own life, I have found all of this to be true. During seasons of suffering, when I only focused on the pain or what I didn’t have, my thoughts spiraled into dark emotions, which took me to lonely, resentful places. But in those same seasons, when I would begin offering “thanks to the Lord with my whole heart” by recounting all of God’s “wonderful deeds” (Psalm 9:1), my entire outlook shifted to one of hope.
The ability to choose gratitude as a heart posture comes only by grace. God’s generous, beautiful grace opens us up to the power of choosing to look for God in the midst of the hard and heavy, the busy and beguiling. Grace gives us what we need to shift from disgruntled to grateful.
Perhaps one of the most consequential changes in my own life came when I put into practice what the ten lepers did, believing God for what He will do. As I began implementing “the practice of expressing gratitude to God not only in response to what he does but in advance and in anticipation of what He will do,” I noticed a significant shift in my ability to believe God for who He says He is!1 I could feel myself stepping toward God as an act of faith. For instance:
- Instead of begging God over and over (as I had for months) to turn my son’s heart away from his bad habits, I began thanking God for what He was already doing in his life. Even though I couldn’t yet see evidence of such godly work, I chose to believe God was already speaking and moving and helping my son see more clearly.
- Instead of lamenting, yet again, that our house wasn’t selling and the housing market was only getting worse, I picked up the prayers of friends who believed with all their hearts that God had already gone before us to prepare a place for us. And I thanked Him for that!
- Instead of worrying myself silly about all that could go wrong in my first grandbaby’s little life, I chose to thank God for the ways He was creating her inner most being, knitting her together in mother’s womb, and making her in such a wonderful, beautiful way (Psalm 139:13-14).
My friends, living with gratitude as an act of faith has been shaping not only my prayer life but my entire attitude and outlook. I more easily release my tendency to worry. I more fully trust God. And I more freely speak my thanks throughout the day.
My prayer is that you will too.
Gratitude as an Unforced Rhythm of Grace
The picture of our firstborn at his third birthday party will forever be forged in my memory as he stood on a table digging through gift bags like a greedy bear, tossing what he didn’t want, clutching treasured toys, then grabbing the next bag. I truly didn’t know whether to be horrified or amused. I probably feel more amusement now than I did then. LOL
So imagine me trying to pry that three-year-old away from those treasures long enough to say thank you to the gift-givers…. His ‘thanks’ came through gritted teeth and impatient sighs. I’m happy to say that he and I both learned a few things that day.
That experience continues to teach me. On days when I feel anything but thankful – like when I’m exhausted or frustrated, grieved or grumpy – I think of that little fella who just wanted to go play rather than thank his aunts and uncles for the clothes they bought him. He was forced to say ‘thank you’ but didn’t really mean it. Yeah, just like me….
It makes me think that gratitude doesn’t come naturally – at least not some of the time.
It helps me embrace the idea that gratitude isn’t just a feeling but a habit.2
It challenges me to find ways to live from a thankful heart – and really mean it.
I want to be a thankful receiver, so making “thank you” a part of a daily checklist seems less heartfelt than I desire. Yet I also recognize that creating habits must start somewhere.
But then I read Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of Matthew 11:29 (MSG). His phrase, “unforced rhythms of grace” resonates with this idea of developing rhythms of gratitude. Less than a box to tick or my own striving. More like unforced grace.
In her writings and online classes, Jess Connolly offers some gratitude practices that we choose to do, that we implement with grace, that we stick with until they become habits – like unforced rhythms of grace.3
She explains that gratitude is active; it’s a work of alignment – our hearts with God’s. Gratitude also breaks through the lies of the enemy.3 Satan puts a lot of effort into convincing us that God will never be enough, but he won’t stop there. If that first lie doesn’t do the trick, he’ll try to get us to believe that our circumstances will never change – or even, that worry prepares us for the future.3 Each of these lies works to tear down our faith in God and to keep us trapped in distrust, doubt, and fear.
Gratitude, on the other hand, tears down the strongholds of the enemy and counters all the lies.3 When we “declare provision and blessing personally and specifically,” our eyes shift to the good happening around us, to the work God is already doing to provide and protect.3 As we see small works of God and thank Him earnestly, our faith grows. Then like a line of falling dominoes, our trust that God is already at work in the unseen gains momentum! But for that first domino to fall, we must engage our eyes and hearts in grace-empowered rhythms of gratitude.
Of course it doesn’t matter how we thank God – just that we do. What matters is that we bring Him our offerings of gratitude regularly with hearts that muster as much earnestness as possible. And we don’t shrink back or shame ourselves if these rhythms start small or even fail from time to time. Building habits always begins with the first step. Then the next. And the next – with a willingness to begin again as many times as needed.
Friends, thanking God is an abiding rhythm. Our words and thoughts of gratitude to our Father in heaven connect us more deeply to Him. They sustain us through the hard times by the grace we’ve been given. They grow in us a stronger faith and a belief that God is good! So let us step into this busy and easily-burdened season with hearts and eyes on the look-out for God. Let’s ask the Spirit to show us the good we can be grateful for, the godly work of our Father who is always, always for us.
May we take the manna-grace we are given each day and thank our Provider for who He is.
May we choose to notice what God is doing and thank Him for it.
May we live with hearts of faith that thank God before we see evidence of His work.
May we rely on the grace we are given to make gratitude a rhythm in our lives – especially on the days we don’t feel thankful.
And may we give God as much praise and glory for His goodness as His good works!
Father God, how we thank You…for being our Creator and our loving Father. For your goodness and faithfulness, which continue to all generations. We worship You with gladness because You are God, because You made us and we are yours. We enter your gates with thanksgiving for You are good and your love endures forever. Lord Jesus, in all that we do, we do it in your name – all while giving thanks to God the Father. Thank You for calling us to be your holy people, for the grace and peace that You give us! We are so grateful for the gift of prayer and the ability to thank You for all You have done. We stand amazed and humbled by this gift of grace-empowered gratitude – how it changes our hearts and minds and spirits, how it helps us see You at work and to believe that You are always working for us. Holy Spirit, we thank You for your presence in us and the way You fill us with each new dose of grace. We ask that You would continue to point us to the Son, helping us to keep our eyes open for His grace and goodness at all times. Give us words to praise the Father for everything He does. Give us hearts that always, always remain grateful for Him. In Jesus’ holy name we pray, amen.
(inspired by Psalm 100; Colossians 3:17; 1 Corinthians 1:2-4; Philippians 4:6; Ephesians 5:18-20)
A thank you note: I’m so honored and humbled by your presence here each week. Thank you for journeying with me through this series on grace. I’ve loved hearing from some of you about how God has been speaking to you through all that we’re learning together. I once again marvel at all the layers that something as ‘familiar’ as grace has; I think I know something until we do our deep dives in this space! I have felt the work of the Spirit in my own heart and life as we’ve uncovered works of grace that I hadn’t considered before. And this image of gathering grace like manna each day has become a reminder to me in those moments when I’m tempted to forge ahead in my own strength – pick-up grace. I pray that we will keep drawing near to God, by faith and with grace, so that we can know Him better. So that we can become more and more like His Son. “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:4).
And a PS: This wraps-up our series on Embracing Grace. I pray God’s richest blessings over this Thanksgiving week. I pray that we’ll each trust God to meet us where we are and to give us all the grace we need to see Him at work, to notice all the good and give it our focus — and gratitude. I also invite you to come back next week as we launch our Advent series called Embraced by Love. I’m doing something I’ve never done — walk us through parts of Handel’s Messiah as the means of helping us see all the lengths God has gone to in order to demonstrate His love for us. Right here, every Sunday in Advent! XOXO
Resources: I love sharing with you the books, podcasts, articles, and anything else that has inspired, encouraged, or taught me. These are humble offerings with no expectations.
- 1 – JD Walt on The Wake Up Call, 10/31/25
- 2 – Jess Connolly on Substack, 11/4/25
- 3 – Jess Connolly in her online class, “Gratitude As Spiritual Warfare”. The class itself is no longer available, but I learned about it here. Jess points out there are all sorts of ‘gratitude rhythms’ we can adopt:
- We can journal or list in an app five things we’re thankful for each day – which shifts our hearts.
- We can intentionally enter into worship, corporately and personally – which shifts our spirits.
- We can tell people how thankful we are for them – which shifts our focus and attitudes.
- We can “get loud in our declarations of gratitude” by sharing pictures, writing essays, or texting friends – all of which shifts our outlooks.
- I don’t have a particular ‘thank you’ song on our playlist, Embracing Grace, but most songs hold the heart posture of gratitude. However, Charity Gayle’s “Sweetest Name I Know” actually comes right out and says it! (If you want a song that’s all about thankfulness, check out Tasha Layton’s new song “Thank You Isn’t Enough.”) Here are some lyrics from Charity’s song:
Jesus, Savior, sweetest name, I know, oh
Jesus, Healer, Lover of my soul, yeah
Yes, He’s the sweetest name I know
No one could say there’s no other name but Jesus
Jesus
And when I was lost, He made a way, my Jesus
Thank you, Lord, Jesus - Each Wednesday I upload a “Teacup” teaching video that carries on the topic here. You can find all the videos on my Facebook Author Page, Instagram, and YouTube.
- Many of you have found me on Substack. Thank you so much! And, if you’d like to listen to (rather than read) these weekly posts, you can do so on Substack, as well. It’s easy to see and use the audio bar across the top of each post. While you’re on Substack, check out the ministry I’m blessed to be part of, the Devoted Collective.
- My monthly newsletter, The Abiding Life, goes to email inboxes the first week of each month to those who have subscribed on my website. I also post them on Substack. My most recent edition can be found there, and you can subscribe for future newsletters on Substack, here.
Rhythms: As my newsletter’s title infers, we seek to develop an abiding life in this space — a place where we can get informed but also be transformed as we learn to abide in God’s presence throughout our days. I like to think that developing rhythms is one way to aid us in our desire to become more Christlike. There’s nowhere better to know Christ than in His Word, so throughout this series, we’ll grab hold of one passage each week and embrace the rhythm of starting our day with God and His Word every morning.
- This week our passage is 1 Corinthians 1:4 NIV. This one line from one of Paul’s prayers sums up this whole series — and my heart for each of you!!!
“I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.” –1 Corinthians 1:4 - We’re all called to share the truths about the work of Jesus. One way you can do that is by sharing this site and telling others your own stories of faith experiences. Believe it or not, we worship God each time we share our stories of faith! We use our whole selves to tell about our holy God!!
Featured Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash. “All the Bits and Pieces” Photo by Arjun Kapoor on Unsplash.
^Denotes an affiliate link, with which this ministry earns a bit to help it keep going. 😉
An every day rhythm of gratitude is definitely a worthy pursuit.
It has sure made a difference in my perspective and relationship with God (and others)! 💜
That’s a true blessing