The Power of a Grateful Heart

Gratitude is not a reaction—it’s a decision rooted in trust. A thankful heart transforms our perspective on God, others, ourselves, and our circumstances.

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We are counting down the days until Thanksgiving, and following on its heels is the Christmas season.  As much as I hate being predictable, this is simply a great time to talk about gratitude.

Partly because it’s what we do on Thanksgiving—we give thanks.  However, there is another reason I wanted to discuss gratitude. This is the time of year when so many people struggle with depression and anxiety.

A 2023 survey by the American Psychological Association found that 89% of U.S. adults feel stressed during the holidays, with 41% reporting higher stress levels compared to other times of the year.

This stress can contribute to symptoms of depression, anxiety, and even substance misuse. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reports that 64% of individuals living with a mental illness experience a worsening of their condition during the holidays.

Lots of things can contribute to holiday-related depression and anxiety. There are financial stresses and social pressure.  We’re supposed to be festive or you get labeled a grinch.  For some, there is the emotional impact of loss or separation, such as the absence of loved ones because of death, distance, or strained family dynamics.

On top of all that, the winter season, with its shorter days and reduced sunlight, can also trigger seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of clinical depression linked to changes in light exposure, particularly in northern climates. For many people, this period begins in late fall and lasts into early spring.

Hopefully, I didn’t make you anxious or depressed by sharing all that, but this time of year can bring some hard things for all of us, and the best way to meet those challenges is to focus on gratitude and to intentionally live with a mindset of thanksgiving.

The title of my message today is ‘Grateful Hearts: Living with Thanksgiving Every Day.’

Specifically, today I want to talk about The Power of a Grateful Heart.

Author, Brené Brown who has written some incredibly insightful books and has some fascinating TED Talks.  She tackles topics like vulnerability, shame, courage, and a range of other issues that define the human condition.  Her research is really interesting.  She has spent thousands of hours interviewing people on these topics.  After interviewing all these people, she has a lot to say about the topic of gratitude.

We’re a nation hungry for more joy: Because we’re starving from a lack of gratitude.

—Brené Brown

In other words, it is a lack of gratitude that is stealing our joy.  When we forget what we have been given, the good gifts we have received from our good God, we lose our joy.

Long before Brené Brown was conducting her research, God’s word has been telling us this for thousands of years.

As is the Apostle Paul’s habit, at the end of each letter, he gives some final instructions.  He does this in his first letter to the Thessalonians.  As he wraps up the letter, he tells them:

1 Thess 5:16-18 (CSB)—Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Give thanks in everything!  Why?  Because when you stop rejoicing and giving thanks, you stop experiencing joy.  This is how we are designed.  

When we look at our lives and all we see is scarcity and fear, it is impossible to experience joy.  When our attention is consumed with what we don’t have and what we are afraid might happen, there is no space for joy.  That is where gratitude comes in.

Gratitude is not a reaction to our circumstances—it’s a decision rooted in our trust in God, who loves to give His children good gifts. When we have a thankful heart, it transforms our perspective on God, others, ourselves, and our circumstances.

Paul says to:

Rejoice—Always

Pray—Constantly

Give Thanks—In Everything

One day, everyone who has believed that Jesus is God’s only Son, that He died on the Cross to pay for our sin, and three days later rose from the dead, victorious over sin and death, will live forever in God’s presence where there is no more pain, no more tears, and no more struggle.  That is the hope that we have in Christ.

Until then, we have to contend with a broken world, full of sin and death.  But it is also a world where God walks with us through the pain and the struggle.  And despite the hardships, He blesses us and shows us His kindness and love.

This past week, our community suffered a heartbreaking loss when a 16-year-old young man did not see any hope and decided to take his own life.  My heart breaks for his family and friends, but most of all, my heart breaks at the thought that life would seem so hopeless that the only answer in his mind was to end his life.

Rejoice always; give thanks in everything. Sandwiched in between those two statements is “pray continually.”  Stay connected to God continually.  Rejoicing and giving thanks require that we stay connected to our Saviour. Pour your heart out to Him when it hurts.  Ask for wisdom when you need it.  Lay your requests, your pain, your burdens at the foot of the cross, continually.  Listen for his still small voice in the midst of the chaos because that is the source of our joy.

Phil 4:6-7 (CSB)—Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 

And most of all, when life is not hard and things are not difficult, live with thanksgiving every day.  When you develop that mindset and that habit of gratitude, that’s when you see the power of a grateful heart at work. Because when things do get hard, you have something to draw from.  Instead of being consumed with hopelessness, you can find joy even in the hard stuff.  Because that’s the way you live your life.  You live with thanksgiving every day.

“A good life happens when you stop and are grateful for the ordinary moments that so many of us just steamroll over to try to find those extraordinary moments.”

—Brené Brown

How can you live with thanksgiving everyday? One of my practices is pretty simple: When I find myself having a negative mindset, I stop and flip the script and make a list of all the good things I am thankful for.   

Ps 100 (CSB)—A psalm of thanksgiving. Let the whole earth shout triumphantly to the LORD! Serve the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Acknowledge that the LORD is God. He made us, and we are his—his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name. For the LORD is good, and his faithful love endures forever; his faithfulness, through all generations.