💛 The Power of Thankfulness

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”

—Colossians 4:2

This instruction from Colossians was the Bible Hub verse of the day in late November. I read it one morning after a horrible night spent batting away fretful thoughts. I was awake very early, having given up on sleep and it was the word ‘thankful’ that arrested my attention.

I let the concept of thankfulness sink in, and as I did, I found I was able to pivot my mind away from everything that wasn’t going to plan and instead focus on the extensive good we were also experiencing. One by one, I brought each area of anxiety before God and saw that in every circumstance, there was something I could genuinely thank Him for.

In all honesty, it felt like trying to move an extremely rusty—and heavily underused—lever. But, that morning, I just ‘felt a great deal better’: the anxiety lessened and I was able to start my day from a very different place.

So many Bible verses encourage us towards a constant attitude of thankfulness. As I’ve reflected on this repeated command, I can see how, in training us to be thankful, Jesus is also taking very good care of our emotional health.

Personally, my mind has well-worn tramlines leading toward resentment and irritation. I genuinely hate this and have been asking Jesus to renew my thinking and change my heart in this area for most of 2025. I would say that something real shifted on that November morning.

Soon afterwards, I was in my kitchen and my thoughts drifted with familiar ease into annoyance. I barely noticed it happening. The Holy Spirit broke into this and reminded me of thankfulness. Truthfully, it felt a little easier to crank that rusty ‘thankfulness lever’ this time. I consciously pivoted towards thanking God for the privilege of being at The Wellspring and for the honour of serving here - I found myself praying with warmth for those I had been internally grumbling about minutes earlier.

The image of a rusty lever feels particularly apt. The beauty of our circumstances and relationships is like a collection of shining works of art. If we leave that beauty exposed to the rain of irritation and disapproval, it will rust—and rust, by its very nature, corrodes and destroys. Simply by neglecting thankfulness toward God, others, and ourselves, we can believe lies and be robbed of the joy God always intended to be our strength.

What lies do we find ourselves believing?

“God’s going to leave me hanging in the wind.”

The Bible says: Psalm 23; Proverbs 3:5; Matthew 6:32

“There’s too much to do and not enough time.”

The Bible says: Luke 10:41; Matthew 11:30; Exodus 20:8

“They don’t like me, Lord. They dismiss me, judge me, and find me wanting.”

The Bible says: Romans 12:18; Romans 8:33

Jesus tells us to bring all our anxious thoughts to Him with thankfulness because He knows that a thankful heart will break the hold that anxiety and rage have over us.

As I researched, I listened again to Bill Johnson’s preach following the death of his wife, Beni, in 2022 - you can view Bill's talk here.

He speaks candidly about the impact of Beni’s loss and his profound disappointment over her death. Yet he also speaks about all he remains thankful for—the practical support they received and the love of their church family. Two things he said were particularly impactful (I’m paraphrasing):

We may not understand why God allows certain things, but we can know with absolute certainty that He is always a good and kind Father.

There are lessons that can only be learned in the dark valley and there is no greater gift we can offer to God than our worship in the midst of deep loss and suffering.

My personal application from Bill’s message is this choice: when I feel a circumstance is unfair, or when I grieve the way evil has ravaged those I love—will I retreat into anxiety and anger, or will I allow Jesus to fashion gold within me by offering Him my worship, even at these moments?

Yes, there are times to actively fight against evil – Jesus never told us to yield before the enemy. But if our actions do not flow from a surrendered heart, then we are not trusting in God’s goodness, we are simply trying to make ourselves feel better by shouting at the things we fear.

I am, now, intentionally pouring oil onto that rusty lever, and trusting Jesus to change my heart as I learn the ways of thankfulness.

God Bless those of you on this journey alongside me.

Cathy