Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God

of all
comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the
comfort we ourselves receive from God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

The Basic Habits of Gratitude

The secret of happiness is to count your blessings while others are adding up their trouble. — William
Penn

As we read God’s Word, we can see the theme of being thankful. There are hundreds of verses telling
us to give thanks or offer praise to God. Outside of the Bible, you’ll find lots of articles and research
stating the benefits that come with being a grateful person. People who are thankful are known to be
depressed less, get better grades in school, sleep better, stay healthy, have deeper friendships, and
have a brighter outlook on life. Basically, gratitude is good for you!

In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV, the Apostle Paul wrote, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the
will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Living as grateful people is God’s will for our lives. God knew
before the beginning of time how positively gratitude would affect us—long before an article or book
was written about the topic. So, whether your life is moving along smoothly or it feels like you’re
walking in quicksand, consider adding these daily habits to your life:

Create new pathways. Dr. Caroline Leaf, cognitive neuroscientist and author, said, “As you think, you
change the structure of your brain.” This isn’t easy. But, we have a choice in what we think about, so
let’s allow thoughts of gratefulness to fill our minds.

Choose five things. Make a daily habit to say or write five things you’re thankful for. You can do it
any time of the day—morning or night!

Set a gratitude alarm. Choose different times in the day. When the alarm goes off, ask God to bring
to mind the blessings and gifts in your life and thank Him for them.

Tell someone. Every day, talk to someone about what you're thankful for. Maybe it’s their friendship,
the sunrise, a powerful moment with God, or an unexpected blessing you received. Saying it makes it
more real.

It’s vital that we make our gratitude habitual so that when life’s storms come upon us, we know how
to navigate the rough waters. And part of this is trusting God and even choosing to be grateful when
we don’t understand the world around us.

As we build this gratitude muscle, it won’t be something we have to think about—it’ll become as
natural as breathing.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11