Choosing Gratitude Before Circumstances Change
“Thank you Lord for a cool house….” I remember praying this the first month we moved back from Honduras. After living in Central America with no central air, the AC in my mom’s house felt like a God-send. It was also a season of heartbreak for our family. We did not want to move away, but because of a breakdown of communication with our agency, God clearly led us away. I cried that entire month, but I also started giving thanks to God during that season as well. I would make a choice to say one thing I was grateful for each night before bed.Â
It was, as I look back, one of the many small ways God has used to shift my heart over the past six years. This simple choice of giving thanks – even for one thing – actually helps me sleep better at night.
Moving to a foreign country, then moving back, has created in me a desperate need to find gratitude not in my circumstances, but in God’s character. We moved in January of 2020. Little did we (or anyone) know that two and half months later the entire world would shut down.
Although I am tempted to look back and think of all we lost moving there and back, I refuse to let the enemy win. Gratitude is a choice I make, and there are so many things about those five years I don’t regret – in fact – I give thanks to God for! Here are just a few:
- Glorious views of God’s creation
- Amazing relationships with beautiful people who love God
- A glimpse of how God provides in miraculous ways
- God never leaves me.Â
- A closeness during the pandemic we would have not had here in the states
Friend, I could go on and on, but instead of my list of gratitude, let me encourage you: you can make your own list. No, I don’t know what you are facing today, but there are things to give thanks to God for – even if we must look only to Him. Or maybe, instead, because we look only to Him! Thanksgiving is a choice rooted in God’s character, not our circumstances.Â
Take a moment to read Psalm 100. It is so short and won’t take long!
Gratitude Shifts Our Perspective
As I said, gratitude shifted my perspective on life. There was so much to mourn, grieve, and weep about as we moved back to the States. My heart was indeed hurt, bruised, and my faith felt so very small. I did allow myself to cry, to weep and lament. God says that even in this – I still had reason to give thanks.
Not because life was good. But because God was good.
Paul also says this in Philippians 4:4-8. The tribulations, heartaches, and suffering of this world will continue to come to us, whether we give thanks or not. But peace is possible! Peace in the midst of it begins with rejoicing, which seems counterintuitive. James says we “count it all joy when we fall into various tribulations.” Count what as “joy”? I think we consider and dwell upon the goodness of God.
Even if nothing in my life changes, my perspective can change. My heart can change. Yes, I am still allowed to feel all of the feelings but I do not need to sit with those feelings or let those feelings erase the good things in my life. It is a choice we make, but the more we know about God, the better the choice becomes.
God’s Goodness Never Changes
Our God, the one who rules the haven and determines the course of the planets, galaxies, and watches over the tiniest of sea creatures who have never met a human – that God never changes. Read the Bible and the counts of the descriptions of God in the stories, songs, poems and prophecy.
You will find a God who is beyond understanding, but also nearer to your heart than anyone else. This God never changes. Rejoice in all He is, but mostly rejoice in his steadfast love. The phrase “steadfast love” is mentioned almost two hundred times in the Old Testament and one hundred twenty-seven of those times are in the book of Psalms.Â
As we walk whatever path God has laid out for us, may we remember we do not walk alone and in the end – only God’s steadfast love is constant. My life has shifted so many times, again and again. There are even heartaches that have come to my heart deeper and more painful than when we left Honduras.Â
Looking back, I am comforted that no depth of pain and sorrow will be too dark for God’s goodness, His steadfast love, to grow. So I keep choosing joy. I keep remembering to be thankful. When life is filled with so much sorrow, being thankful for the small things can transform our lives!Â
A List of Small Gratitudes
Sometimes gratitude begins very small.
A cool house on a hot day. A cup of coffee before everyone wakes up. A text from a friend. Clean sheets. A song you love. Ten quiet minutes at the end of a long day.
When life hurts, you don’t have to pretend everything is good in order to give thanks. Instead, look for one small evidence of God’s goodness right where you are.
Here are a few places to begin:
- A warm cup of coffee or tea
- A comfortable place to sleep
- Sunshine coming through the window
- Rain when the ground needs it
- A meal you enjoy
- Clean water
- A hot shower
- A cool house on a hot day
- A warm house on a cold day
- A favorite song
- A good book
- A conversation that made you laugh
- A friend who checked on you
- Someone who knows you well
- A quiet moment alone
- A prayer God answered
- A Scripture that met you exactly where you were
- Strength to do something difficult
- God’s provision for today’s needs
- God’s mercy when you failed
- God’s presence when you felt alone
- The promise that God will be with you tomorrow
Your list doesn’t need to be impressive. Start with one thing.
Tonight, before you go to sleep, finish this sentence:
Thank You, Lord, for ____________.
Then tomorrow, do it again.
Small gratitude practiced day after day teaches our hearts to notice something we’ve easily missed: God’s goodness has been with us all along.
Weekly Practice:
End each day by thanking God for three specific blessings.
This post is part of the Fall 2026 Blog Series
Every Day with God: Meeting with Jesus in Every Season of Life
Abiding isn’t just a summer lesson—it’s a lifelong way of walking with Jesus. Whether life is joyful or difficult, busy or quiet, we can meet with God every single day through His Word.
“One thing have I asked of the Lord…that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.” — Psalm 27:4
*Click here to read more posts. (link to category: Everyday with God)