Finding the Courage to Be Grateful

At the start of 2024, my mom and I decided to keep a jar of things we were grateful for. Each weekend, I’d write on a little dog-shaped sticky note something I was thankful for from the week. I even labeled the jar “2024: a year of gratitude.”

And I’ll be honest, some weeks it was much harder to remember the good than others. 2024 has been a year of gratitude, but it’s also been a year of loss, heartache, and challenges. But every week, when I really sit back and reflect (sometimes in frustration), God brings to mind at least one thing to be thankful for.

It takes courage to be grateful.

It’s much easier to go around preparing for the worst, assuming everyone is out to get you and you can never rest until things are completely and utterly perfect.

But that’s the problem: when you wait for things to be perfect before you accept joy into your heart, you will be waiting until Jesus comes again. Things on earth simply will not be completely perfect until then. That’s the consequence of living in a world where sin exists.

When we open our hearts to joy, even in the middle of trials, we are proclaiming with boldness that God is greater than even our toughest battles.

The good news is that God doesn’t expect us to be courageous on our own. In fact, courage without faith is actually foolishness because it’s a reliance on our own, flawed selves rather than our perfect God.

When we ask God for help in whatever we do, whether it’s trusting Him enough to take the time to rest and experience gratitude, or showing up with courage and embracing joy, He will be present with us.

Today, I encourage you to reflect on this past year, even if it was one of the toughest years of your life. Consider what you are truly thankful for–not just what you think you are supposed to be grateful for, but the moments when you really experienced God’s grace.

And remember, gratitude is one of the purest forms of praise to our wonderful God, who will remain constant in His love for us even when our circumstances change. ❤

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

– Colossians 3:16

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

– Hebrews 10:23