“Joyfully you’ll pull up buckets of water from the wells of salvation. And as you do it, you’ll say, “Give thanks to God. Call out his name. Ask him anything! Shout to the nations, tell them what he’s done, spread the news of his great reputation!” – Isaiah 12:3-4
According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, researchers have found that “adults who frequently feel grateful have more energy, more optimism, more social connections, and more happiness than those who do not. . . . They’re also less likely to be depressed, envious, greedy or alcoholics. They earn more money, sleep more soundly, exercise more regularly, and have greater resistance to viral infections.”
In a study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2003...researchers divided people into three groups. Over a period of 10 weeks, one group had to list five things per week for which they were grateful, another kept track of five things they found annoying each week, and the third just listed things that had happened in their lives. The results? “Those who listed blessings each week had fewer health complaints, exercised more regularly, and felt better about their lives in general than the other two groups,” the Journal reported.
Dr. Robert Emmons, a professor of psychology at the University of California-Davis, was one of the leading researchers in that study. He’s quoted as saying that the act of feeling gratitude requires “self-reflection, the ability to admit that one is dependent upon the help of others, and the humility to realize one’s own limitations.”
Gratitude is good for the body and the soul. Today in prayer, thank Jesus for His many blessings in your life.
“Gratitude is the forgotten factor in happiness research.” – Robert Emmons
God’s Word: “Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.” – Psalm 95:2
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