Last week, a friend reminded me of the benefits of a gratitude journal. “Do it daily,”, she insisted. It will change your life!
I believe that. It will. Gratitude re-focuses our energy, producing better results. It’s been studied and documented, proven to be real. Here is the formula:
Gratitude + Action = Results
“Shoot, that’s easy! I’m going to try that,” is my response.
So, I do it. And it works…mostly. Something is still missing. I don’t understand. If I am grateful, my attitude has improved and I am getting better results, why is my life still dry? Why do I feel just a little bit off?
The answer is simple, and obvious. I saw it clearly in Psalm 103:1. David writes:
Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
Do you see it? Twice he says it. Praise.
The gratitude formula I was provided is wrong. When I add action to gratitude, the focus is on me. It celebrates who I am and what I have. I am elevated. At the end of the day, however, no matter how thankful I am, I’m still haunted my weaknesses and limitations. While I have better results, I still feel empty and dry. What am I missing? How do I overcome that?
David shows us. He uses a different formula. It’s not gratitude + action, its:
Gratitude + Praise
Adding praise to gratitude shifts our focus from me to God. David’s praise is an external focus celebrating something outside of his own control. It’s the same for us. With praise, we are eliminated from equation, and gratitude gets placed where it belongs, with the source. God.
Another great thing about praise is that its not just past tense, its also future tense Yes, we celebrate what God has done, but also get to celebrate what God is going to do. Said another way, what God has done, God will also do. Our weaknesses and limitations are no longer debilitating, they’re empowering.
For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13 (NLT)
There’s one more part of the equation that David get’s right. The ending. For David, gratitude and praise do not produce a bigger kingdom, more money, or a better family life; i.e. better results. They are about joy.
Gratitude + Praise = Joy
Jesus says it this way:
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10
Yes, he deserves our gratitude, but he has earned our praise.