Give Thanks to the Lord: 12 Ways to Count Your Blessings and Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude

Our God is a God of goodness and faithfulness. Of love and grace. Of peace and hope. Of compassion and mercy. Of holiness and power. He is a God who draws us to Himself with loving-kindness. Who hears our cries and answers with justice and righteousness. Who lavishly pours out love and freely gives grace and abundantly blesses. Who is faithful to keep His promises.

Our God is a God of relationship.

Our God is a God who is intimately interested and involved in our daily lives.

His mercies are new every morning. (Lamentations 3:23)

He pours out His love each day. (Psalm 42:8)

He is working all things for the good of those who love Him. (Romans 8:28)

He is gracious in all He does. (Psalm 145:13)

His discipline is always for our good. (Hebrews 12:10)

He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

He will supply all our needs from His glorious riches. (Philippians 4:19)

He is always with us. (Psalm 16:8)

Yes, we serve a wondrous, holy, incomparable God. A God of every, each, all, and always.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Rejoicing, prayer, and thanksgiving are to be every, each, all and always. Recognizing and interacting with the God of goodness and faithfulness. Of love and grace. Of peace and hope. Of compassion and mercy. Of holiness and power. So we can see His new mercies, His love poured out, His working and disciplining for good, His provision, His ever-present Presence, His grace in all, His blessing upon blessing. 

Do I believe in the every, each, all and always of our God?

I’d like to think I do. But I also know I don’t always live like I do. Like He is with me in all I face, like He will take care of me every day, like He always loves me, like He has a plan for me for each day.

But my lack of believing and living in God’s goodness and love doesn’t cause them to diminish or fade. He just continues to be good and loving, and to open my eyes and help my unbelief. Constantly growing me and showing me Himself. So I may see. So I may believe. Calling me to rejoice and pray and give thanks. So I may see. So I may believe.

The psalmist sings, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.”
(Psalm 107:1)

We can give thanks in all, because God is good in all. We can rejoice always, because God loves always. And thankfulness opens our eyes to the every, each, all, and always of God.

But I know this can be hard. Especially in the hard times. Especially when we cannot confidently say, "God is always good", but instead must say, "God is always good... somehow." So here are some ways you can practically and applicably count your blessings, offer up thanks, cultivate an attitude of gratitude, and recognize God’s every, each, all, and always in your life:

• Keep a gratitude list, writing down the things you are thankful for in a journal or notebook.
• Read the book of Philippians. This book has so much to teach us about thanksgiving, rejoicing, and prayer.
• Each time you want to complain about a person or situation, look for something to be thankful for and express your appreciation instead
• Each morning, pray about the difficult situations and people in your life, submitting them to God and allowing Him to work in you and through you in the midst of them.
• Find a worship song that you can play when you are having a difficult time seeing God’s goodness
• Find a couple of Scripture verses about thankfulness to memorize 
• Each evening, write a prayer of thankfulness for God’s character that He revealed to you that day. It doesn’t need to be anything long or elaborate. Short and simple is just fine.
• On a calendar, write down how you saw God work in that day at the end of each day.
• Write Scriptures that describe God’s goodness and love on a couple of index cards to keep with you as reminders of who God is to you and for you.
• Find a friend you can share with about God’s working in your life, and who you can rejoice with as God works in their life.
• Take some time to think back on your life and remember the different ways God has been good to you and provided for you
• Be generous. Instead of focusing on what seems to be lacking in your life, look for the blessings you can share with others
• Set the background on your phone or computer to a picture or phrase that reminds you of God’s goodness, love, and blessings.
• Take some time (even just a couple minutes) each day to be still in God’s Presence, letting His love and grace wash over you

Let us be thankful in all, to our God who is with us in all, that we may see Him in all.