Have you ever kept a gratitude journal? Or made a list of things you’re thankful for during a time when thankfulness was the furthest thing from your mind? I don’t know about you, but I always doubt this practice until I’m doing it. It can feel silly at the moment and wholly inadequate for fixing whatever discontentment is taking root in my heart. But no matter how discouraged or far from God I feel, writing down His blessings consistently changes me.
And it doesn’t have to sound overly spiritual. Sometimes, my journal pages are filled with God’s attributes, and other times it’s as simple as a mug of Glazed Lemon Loaf tea or a voice memo from my best friend. God’s blessings are abundant, and His faithfulness can be seen in every moment of our lives if we look through the lens of belief.
In today’s passages from 1 Chronicles, we find a similar practice. After David and the Levites found a place for the ark of the covenant in Jerusalem, David marks this holy moment with a blessing for God’s people and a psalm of thanksgiving. “Give thanks to the LORD; call on his name; proclaim his deeds among the peoples,” (1Chronicles 16:8).
For six paragraphs, we read David’s call for gratitude. Each one is full of action words, commanding God’s people to sing, worship, seek God’s strength, rejoice and remember His works (vv.8–36). Doing so will change them. Unlike other religions, God’s people do not worship a distant or impersonal god but One who is active—and who remains faithful despite our disobedient behavior.
Like the Israelites, maybe we need a reminder of these deeds. First, God made a covenant with His people. He remained faithful when they were faithless. He continues to speak to them through the words of David and others. And He gave them the hope of a Messiah.
This kind of thanksgiving-infused praise should be central to our faith today (Hebrews 13:15). Like keeping a gratitude journal, it won’t always come easy at first. But it will change us. It’s also an act of obedience. When we turn our attention to the Lord and remember His faithfulness in our lives, our griefs and day-to-day worries become easier to bear because we remember we know the One companion who helps us carry them.
❤️
I use an app to journal and have used it for several years. How amazing it is to look back and see what God did! It is easy to forget, I am prone to wonder, as the hymn says. But when I reflect on how he answered, or how he did something, I am truly in awe of his greatness.
I’ve just started a journal this week, choosing a passage of scripture and reflecting on it. Then, writing how I can apply it to my life and ending with a prayer. I’m definitely going to add the gratitude portion in now. I’d spend every second of every day singing His praises for all of the blessings He’s given me. Every breath is a blessing.
I read this question in a devotional somewhere: if you woke up in the morning only having the things that you thanked God for the day before, what would you be left with? Wow that’s a sobering thought. I try to do the list on my head but get distracted. I like the idea of a separate journal. Maybe even just writing three things a day to start small. Have a blessed evening.
I have been teaching my toddler to pray. So we say the Our Father together and then I ask him what he would like to thank Jesus for today. It always surprises me the little details that he is thankful for. He clearly remembers little moments throughout the day. (Also he might be stalling bedtime, but it is better to have a gratitude mindset). I pray to be more like him in remembering “every moment of blessing and God’s faithfulness throughout the day (paraphrasing the reflection).”
I really enjoyed this devotional today. I love the idea of a gratitude journal. I feel like it can get so easy to get caught up in the day by day things and things can feel mundane, but there is SO much to be thankful for from God. Seeing it written down I’m sure will be helpful. Sending prayers for all of the requests.
I love that in the midst of chaos, David commands his people to worship. We always have time to praise God. We should always be making that time. I also love that his response to the repentance and sacrifice IS worship – repentance and sacrifice are HOW we commune with God. They do not drive us away, but spur us on even closer to him. That is why we worship.
I’ve never done a gratitude journal but I’m going to start one. I need to cultivate that mindset of acknowledging His blessings