Gratitude Check

Gratitude journaling has many benefits, but also helps us focus on the source of our blessings: God

By Mandy Crow

As believers, we’re familiar with the concept of thankfulness. Again and again throughout Scripture we are instructed to give thanks. (See 1 Thess. 5:18; Col. 3:17; Psalm 107:1.)

Gratitude is clearly supposed to be a characteristic of our lives as Christ followers—and it’s a concept the world has latched onto. Christian and secular therapists alike have promoted the benefits of practicing gratitude journaling, stressing that counting your blessings and expressing gratitude can help you sleep better, lower your stress and improve relationships (NPR).

But there’s a difference in expressing gratitude and expressing gratitude to the God who has made provision for you. A 2018 study in The Journal of Positive Psychology found that people who consistently wrote down the things they were thankful for and then read them aloud to God as a prayer “ demonstrated gains in gratitude, positive affect, and hope” (Journal of Positive Psychology).

Clearly, we are called to be grateful, but as believers, we know that we have someone to thank—and that act reorients our minds and hearts from ourselves to the source of our blessings: God.

So what might it look like to start gratitude journaling? Here are a few tips to get you started.

1. Set aside time regularly to focus on how God has blessed you. Maybe it’s each night right before you go to bed or in the morning as you start your day. You could also focus at the end or beginning of each week, if a weekly schedule works better for your life.
   

2. Write it down. You can definitely express your thanks aloud or in silent prayer to God, but there’s something special about writing it down. Plus, in seasons where it is hard to see how God is moving or you doubt his goodness, returning to the ways he has blessed you can be a source of hope and strength, like a deep well in the middle of the desert. You don’t have to have a fancy journal; you can use a plain notebook, notecards or sticky notes or even use an app on your phone or type them out on your computer. Just find what works the best for you!
   

3. Be honest. Sometimes, the things you want to write down may feel silly and not that important to God. But if you recognize him as the giver of all good gifts (James 1:17), he is the one who has provided that blessing. So jot down the things that you’re thankful for, from that cup of coffee on the patio to your favorite song, your daughter’s giggle or an out-of-the-blue call from a friend. Give thanks in all things!
   

4. Be consistent. Sometimes it’s easy to start a habit—but harder to keep it going. If you want to make gratitude journaling a part of your life, you have to be consistent with it. That doesn’t mean you won’t skip a day or two (or a week or two, let’s be real!) but it does mean that you’re consistently taking the time to focus on how God has blessed you and thank him for it.