3 Surprising Benefits of Thankfulness
Thankfulness is much more than just being polite. And thankfulness extends beyond the Biblical admonition to give thanks in all circumstances. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) It turns out that believer and non-believer alike are getting on the Gratitude Train because regularly practicing thankfulness brings huge rewards. Keep reading to discover 3 SurprisingBenefits of Thankfulness.
1. THANKFULNESS BRINGS YOU INTO ALIGNMENT
Thankfulness brings you into alignment with Biblical principles. And when we are in alignments with God’s truths His blessings flow. The great Apostle Paul admonished the New Testament Church in Thessalonica to give thanks for everything.
In everything, Paul said, give thanks. Thessalonians was originally written in Greek, and the Greek word for the word everything was ‘PAS’ which means radically all.
RADICALLY ALL?
I don’t know what radically all means to you, but to me, that means giving thanks for the good, the not-so-good, and the downright terrible.
That means to give thanks:
In job loss.
In financial crisis.
In failing health.
In happiness.
In sadness.
In victory.
In defeat.
In success.
And in failure.
I have two friends who are battling for their lives. One has end stage Leukemia, and the other has end-stage colon cancer. I have watched from afar as they grapple with the fact that the great sovereign God who could heal them, has thus far chosen not to. And I have been amazed again and again at how consistently and publicly express thankfulness. They are living 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to the max.
Just released by 30-year-old Anthony Trimble. Father of two little boys, and battling end-stage colon cancer. Download your copy of All I Am today
Jessica is chronicling her battle with Leukemia on Facebook and calling it #chroniclesofamiracle. She just released an album called “Welcome to the Well.”
2. THANKFULNESS LOWERS YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE
Evidently gratefulness relaxes you, and when you relax your blood pressure naturally goes down.
“…a feeling of gratitude and appreciation for what one has in life, can lead to lower blood pressure. Apparently, feeling appreciative has a calming effect that produces real world, physical changes. The American Journal of Cardiology cited a study that proved the correlation between gratitude and lower blood pressure levels. We should pause to briefly note that most of the medical community acknowledging this fact is impressive. A generation ago, they would have probably thought such a correlation was highly unlikely.” –The Institute of Vibrant Living
3. THANKFULNESS IMPROVES YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM
“Grateful people tend to be more optimistic, a characteristic that researchers say boosts the immune system. “There are some very interesting studies linking optimism to better immune function,” says Lisa Aspinwall, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of Utah. In one, researchers comparing the immune systems of healthy, first-year law students under stress found that, by midterm, students characterized as optimistic (based on survey responses) maintained higher numbers of blood cells that protect the immune system, compared with their more pessimistic classmates.”
Take The Thankfulness Challenge
So let’s get started with growing closer to God and improving our health! Join me in the Thankfulness Challenge and see if you can go the whole day with only thanking God instead of asking Him for things. You can begin by leaving a comment and either listing what you are thankful for, or letting me know how you did with only expressing thankfulness for an entire 24 hour period.