The Discipline of Gratitude
Stuck in a cycle of negativity and complaining? In this episode, discover how gratitude isn't a feeling you wait for; it's a daily discipline that rewires your heart toward joy and helps you see God's mercies hiding in plain sight.
Stuck in a cycle of negativity and complaining? In this episode, discover how gratitude isn't a feeling you wait for; it's a daily discipline that rewires your heart toward joy and helps you see God's mercies hiding in plain sight.
Do you ever catch yourself noticing everything that's wrong before you notice anything that's right?
It's easy to become an expert at complaining without even realizing it. The traffic. The weather. The mess. The disappointment. Left unchecked, a critical spirit can color everything gray and quietly steal your joy. You may not feel negative, but your default thoughts tell a different story.
In this episode, we look at the story of Ann Voskamp, a busy farm wife and mother who was battling low-grade depression and a critical spirit that made life feel heavy. A friend challenged her to do something almost too simple: make a list of 1,000 things she was grateful for, not big, dramatic blessings, but small, ordinary gifts. Through her journey and the command of 1 Thessalonians 5:18, you'll see that gratitude isn't something you feel your way into. It's something you choose, practice, and build—and over time, it rewires your heart from complaint to worship.
BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU'LL DISCOVER:
- Why your brain defaults to noticing what's wrong, and how gratitude interrupts that pattern
- How 1 Thessalonians 5:18 calls you to be thankful in all circumstances, not just for them
- A simple daily practice to train your eyes to see God's presence and mercies hiding in plain sight
- Gratitude doesn't change your circumstances, but it changes you in your circumstances, and that changes everything.
Share This Episode:
https://www.dailydevotionsforbusylives.com/153
Want to keep these devotions coming? Please consider supporting this podcast.
https://www.dailydevotionsforbusylives.com/support/
Connect with Bart
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/dailydevotionsforbusylives
Website: https://www.dailydevotionsforbusylives.com
Feeling spiritually drained? Start here. Download your free copy of my eBook Making Time for Jesus here.
Mentioned in this episode:
Subscribe to the Newsletter
If you’d like weekly encouragement delivered straight to your inbox, plus a free copy of my eBook Making Time for Jesus, sign up for the Daily Devotions for Busy Lives newsletter at https://www.dailydevotionsforbusylives.com/subscribe.
Speak:
00: 16: 18.119,0: 00: 19: 21.920 A busy farm wife and
Speak:
mother sits at her kitchen table, exhausted and frustrated. Ann
Speak:
Voskamp was battling a critical spirit and low-grade depression
Speak:
that colored everything gray. Life felt hard, and she found
Speak:
herself constantly noticing what was wrong instead of what was
Speak:
right. Then a friend challenged her to do something that sounded
Speak:
almost too simple: make a list of 1,000 things she was grateful
Speak:
for. Not big dramatic blessings, but small, ordinary things.
Speak:
Gifts. In a season of struggle, why would someone start writing
Speak:
down things like morning light through the window or the smell
Speak:
of coffee? How could a list change
Speak:
anything? Welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm
Speak:
Bart Leger, and today we're talking about a discipline that
Speak:
doesn't always come naturally but can completely transform how
Speak:
you experience life. Gratitude. 1 Thessalonians 5: 18 says,
Speak:
For this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
Speak:
Notice it doesn't say be thankful for all circumstances.
Speak:
Some circumstances are painful or just downright awful. But it
Speak:
says be thankful in all circumstances. No matter what's
Speak:
happening around you, there's always something to thank God
Speak:
for. And the act of looking for it can change you. Most of us
Speak:
default to noticing what's wrong. I know I do. The traffic, the
Speak:
weather, the co-worker that irritates us, the mess on the
Speak:
counter, the thing that didn't go our way. Our brains are wired
Speak:
for problems. There's even a psychological term called
Speak:
negativity bias. It's considered a survival mechanism. But if
Speak:
left unchecked, we become experts at complaining. Over
Speak:
time, that critical spirit poisons our joy. It will begin
Speak:
to affect our relationships and our walk with God. So what can
Speak:
we do about it? Don't worry. There's an antidote. It's called
Speak:
gratitude. But here's the thing. You rarely feel grateful You
Speak:
choose gratitude and the feeling often follows. It's a discipline,
Speak:
not a mood. You train your eyes to see what's good before your
Speak:
emotions catch up. That's why Paul writes it as a command. He
Speak:
says to be thankful. Not feel thankful if you happen to, but
Speak:
be thankful. Because it's an act of the will. It's something you
Speak:
do on purpose, especially when you don't feel like it. And when
Speak:
you do it consistently, something begins to shift. You
Speak:
start to notice God's fingerprints in places you used
Speak:
to overlook. The small mercies. The ordinary blessings. The fact
Speak:
that you woke up this morning. That someone loves you. And that
Speak:
God supplies His grace for you again today. Gratitude doesn't
Speak:
change your circumstances. But it changes you in your
Speak:
circumstances. Think about it this way. Complaining trains
Speak:
your brain to see lack. Gratitude trains your heart to
Speak:
see abundance. Both are habits. And both are contagious. And
Speak:
both shape what you become. At first, Ann's gratitude list felt
Speak:
awkward and forced. She didn't feel thankful, so writing it
Speak:
down seemed hollow. But she kept going, day after day, training
Speak:
her eyes to look for grace in the ordinary. Over time,
Speak:
something shifted. She began to see God's presence everywhere
Speak:
she'd missed Him before. The discipline of writing down
Speak:
gratitude Gratitude rewired her brain and her heart from
Speak:
complaint to worship. She documented her journey in her
Speak:
book, One Thousand Gifts, and it has helped millions of people
Speak:
discover the same truth. Gratitude isn't a feeling you
Speak:
wait for. It's a daily discipline that opens your eyes
Speak:
to joy. Not because everything is good, but because God is
Speak:
present and His mercies are hiding in plain sight when we
Speak:
train ourselves to see them. Maybe you're in a tough season
Speak:
right now. Maybe life feels unbearable and thankfulness
Speak:
feels like the last thing on your mind. I get it. But that's
Speak:
exactly when the discipline of gratitude matters most. Not
Speak:
because you're pretending things are fine, but because you're
Speak:
choosing to anchor your heart in what's true. God is still good,
Speak:
He's still present, and His mercies are new every morning.
Speak:
Here's today's challenge. Start your own gratitude list. It
Speak:
doesn't have to be a thousand things right away. Just start
Speak:
with three. Every day this week, write down three things you're
Speak:
thankful for. They can be simple. A warm cup of coffee. A kind
Speak:
word from a friend. A moment of peace. the point isn't the size
Speak:
of the blessing. It's training your eyes to see it. And when
Speak:
you catch yourself complaining, and you will, about traffic,
Speak:
about people, about your circumstances, I want you to
Speak:
pause and ask, what's one thing I can thank God for right here?
Speak:
Let gratitude interrupt your grumbling. Lord, forgive us for
Speak:
the times we've let complaining and criticism run our hearts.
Speak:
Teach us to be thankful in all circumstances, not because
Speak:
everything's easy, but because you are good and you're with us.
Speak:
Train our eyes to see your mercies hiding in plain sight.
Speak:
Help us choose gratitude as a discipline until it becomes a
Speak:
delight. In Jesus' name, Amen. If this podcast has been an
Speak:
encouragement to you, would you consider supporting it? Your
Speak:
generosity helps keep these daily devotions coming. You can
Speak:
give at dailydevotionsforbusylives.com
Speak:
slash support. Thank you for partnering with me in this
Speak:
ministry. Thanks for joining me on Daily Devotions for Busy
Speak:
Lives. Remember, gratitude isn't a feeling you wait for. It's a
Speak:
daily discipline that rewires your heart toward joy. Come back
Speak:
next time for more encouragement to help you live grounded in
Speak:
God's truth. Until then, God bless and have a great day.
