Making Sense of Gratitude

Nov 20

He threw his phone at the bed, then winced as it bounced off the edge and hit the hard, wooden floor. The stupid gratitude memes made him angry. “Write three things you’re grateful for every day - scientific studies show it reduces anxiety by 32%!”

He’d tried gratitude journaling, but it felt so empty. It was like taking a daily vitamin - everyone says it’s good for you, but it’s hard to see any practical difference.

It felt fake and hollow to try ‘an attitude of gratitude’ when his wife had left him, exhausted and frustrated by all the time he’d spent on the road to provide for his family.

Americans are relentlessly pragmatic. We’ve wrangled all the efficiency gains we can get out of this self-improvement technique.

The problem is that we know the mechanics and techniques, but we’ve lost the rationale for why gratitude makes sense. Without any deeper logic, gratitude becomes a way to get ahead (how ironic) or a technique to bury our pain.

The Bible defies these trends with a stark alternative. It doesn’t see gratitude as a psychological trick or a brain hack.

Instead, it stares evil in the face and still declares that gratitude is the only rational response to God.

God.

The reality of God is the difference between self-optimization and receiving the gift of gratitude.

Consider Job. For divine purposes beyond my comprehension, God allows Satan to take away his family, his wealth, his health, his reputation — everything.

While his friends think they know theology, Job knows God.

So he can say in faith: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD" (Job 1:21, CSB).

This isn't blind optimism or stoic resignation. Job is praying while he picks at the boils on his skin with pieces of broken pottery (see Job 2:8).

But he has the faith to look beyond his pain to the reality of God.

As John Hartley explains, “With two aphorisms Job acknowledged God’s sovereignty over his entire life, both for good and for ill. His acknowledgment is expressed with the strongest conviction, for he uses God’s personal name Yahweh three times” (NICOT).

Then, after enduring days of empty speeches from his miserable comforters, his faith is rewarded with sight: a divine encounter with God that puts everything into perspective.

Gratitude isn’t about manufacturing positive feelings but getting connected to the reality of God.

It isn’t about denying our problems but connecting them to the bigger picture of eternity.

It’s not about self-serving psychological benefits but humbling ourselves before the Lord.

It isn’t about what we can get but about receiving the gift of who God is and what God does.

Sentimental gratitude collapses when you get the cancer diagnosis.

Biblical gratitude connects us to a God who died on the cross, rose from the grave, and ascended into heaven.

And that's why — even in a world overrun by evil and suffering — gratitude makes sense.

Go Deep with God

Prayerfully read Job 1. Consider Job’s circumstances and his honest faith.

How does God change everything?

Go Deep with Others

What happens when we practice the techniques of gratitude without the logic of gratitude?
How can reconnecting with God restore our perspective?
How does genuine gratitude humble us - and strengthen us?

Go Deep in Service

Anchored to God’s goodness and receiving the gift of his love, how could you be a gift from God to someone else today?

Would you like to discuss this article together?

After joining the Academy, you can see the discussion and share your perspective.

If you're already a Community Partner, you can access the discussion in our private forums at this link.

Photo by Danny Lines on Unsplash