Gratitude Journaling For Spiritual Growth
Gratitude, expressed through practices such as journaling, is a recurring theme in biblical texts and Christian theological traditions, often linked to spiritual growth and a deeper relationship with God. The Psalms frequently call believers to give thanks, as in Psalm 26:7, "That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works," and Psalm 139:14, "I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. My soul knows that very well" [1, 3]. This emphasis on thanksgiving is not merely an emotional response but an active declaration of God's works and character.
The Apostle Paul also connects thanksgiving with the glory of God and the multiplication of grace. In 2 Corinthians 4:15, one tradition writes, "For all things are for your sakes, that the grace, being multiplied through the many, may cause the thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God" [4]. This suggests a reciprocal relationship where grace leads to thanksgiving, which in turn brings glory to God. The prophet Jeremiah similarly speaks of thanksgiving as a sign of God's blessing and multiplication: "Out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of those who make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small" [2].
From a patristic perspective, Augustine of Hippo frequently expressed gratitude for God's grace and mercy. In his Confessions, he thanks God for the remission of his sins, stating, "I will love Thee, O Lord, and thank Thee, and confess unto Thy name, because Thou hast put away from me these so wicked and nefarious acts of mine. To Thy grace I attribute it, and to Thy mercy, that Thou hast melted away my sin as it were ice" [11]. Augustine also saw the act of giving thanks as a recognition of God's creative work, observing the "heaven and the earth" and the "universal creation" as reasons for gratitude [10]. For Augustine, true spiritual progress and character are ultimately known by God, whose judgment "cannot err" [6]. He also recognized the difficulty of maintaining a focused heart in prayer and thanksgiving, noting that "vain thoughts" often hinder prayers, and the heart struggles to remain fixed on God [7]. Despite these challenges, Augustine encouraged communion with one's own soul and raising it up to God [8].
The Reformed tradition, as exemplified by John Calvin, links thanksgiving directly to spiritual joy and contentment. Calvin argues in his Institutes of the Christian Religion that patiently enduring difficulties leads to "spiritual joy" and "thanksgiving." one tradition states that thanksgiving "cannot exist unless joy be felt" and that "the praise of the Lord and thanksgiving can emanate only from a cheerful and gladdened breast" [9]. This perspective suggests that gratitude is not just a superficial expression but a deep-seated joy that arises from a proper understanding of God's providence, even amidst suffering.
The concept of spiritual growth, to which gratitude journaling contributes, is also emphasized in various theological traditions. John Gill, a Baptist/Reformed commentator, interprets 2 Peter 3:18 ("But grow in grace") as an encouragement to increase in the "gifts of grace" and "internal grace." one tradition notes that "gifts neglected decrease, but stirred up and used, are improved and increase." Gill suggests that believers should desire more grace and seek its increase through means, which can help preserve them from error [5]. He also explains that the multiplication of grace can refer to a larger discovery of God's love, an increase in the exercise of the Spirit's internal graces, or a greater measure of spiritual gifts for usefulness [12]. This understanding aligns with the idea that actively cultivating gratitude can be a means of stirring up and exercising grace, thereby fostering spiritual development.
Gratitude journaling, in this context, can be understood as a structured practice that encourages believers to regularly reflect on and record the blessings and acts of God in their lives. This practice aligns with the biblical call to "publish with the voice of thanksgiving" [1] and to let "thanksgiving abound to the glory of God" [4]. By intentionally focusing on what they are grateful for, individuals can cultivate a more cheerful and gladdened heart, which Calvin identifies as the source of genuine thanksgiving [9]. This regular reflection can help to fix the heart on God, addressing the challenge Augustine noted regarding wandering thoughts during prayer [7]. It serves as a tangible way to acknowledge God's grace and mercy, echoing Augustine's personal expressions of gratitude for God's work in his life [11]. The act of recording these blessings can also serve as a means of "stirring up and using" the gifts of grace, contributing to spiritual growth as described by Gill [5].
Sources
- King James Version “[KJV] Psalms 26:7 — That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.”
- Jeremiah “Out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of those who make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. -- Jeremiah 30:19”
- Psalms “I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. My soul knows that very well. -- Psalms 139:14”
- 2 Corinthians “For all things are for your sakes, that the grace, being multiplied through the many, may cause the thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. -- 2 Corinthians 4:15”
- 2 Peter (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 2 Peter 3:18: But grow in grace,.... In the gifts of grace, which, under a divine blessing, may be increased by using them: gifts neglected decrease, but stirred up and used, are improved and increase. And though men are to be thankful for their gifts, and be contented with them, yet they may lawfully desire more, and in the use of means seek an increase of them, which may be a means of preserving themselves, and others, from the error of the wicked. Moreover, by "grace" may be meant internal grace. The work of grace is gradual; it is like a grain of mustard seed, or like seed cas”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 1: Augustine — Confessions, Letters — LETTER XX. (A.D. 390.) (part 2): is to be congratulated, not because of his being for that reason loved, but! because of his being truly (if it is the case) such an one as the person who for this reason loves him esteems him to be. As to our real l character, therefore, and as to the progress we may have made in the divine life, this is seen by Him whose judgment, both as to that which is good in man, and as to each man's personal character, cannot err. For your obtaining the! reward of blessedness so far as this matter is concerned, it is suffic”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 8: Augustine — Exposition on Psalms — PSALM LXXXVI.(3) (part 6): its place: the heart to be lifted up changes its will. 7. "For Thou, Lord, art good and gracious" (ver. 5). ...Even prayers are often hindered by vain thoughts, so that the heart scarcely remains fixed on God: and it would hold itself I so as to be fixed, and somehow flees from itself, and finds no frames in which it can enclose itself, no bars by which it may keep in its flights and wandering movements, and stand still to be made glad by its God. Scarcely does one such prayer occur amongst many. Each one might say that”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 1: Augustine — Confessions, Letters — TO NEBRIDIUS AUGUSTIN SENDS GREETING. (part 1): I. Although you know my mind well, you are perhaps not aware how much I long to enjoy your society. This great blessing, however, God will some day bestow on me. I have read your letter, so genuine in its utterances, in which you complain of your being in solitude, and, as it were, forsaken by your friends, in whose society you found the sweetest charm of life. But what else can I suggest to you than that which I am persuaded is already your exercise ? Commune with your own soul, and raise it up, as”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 63: In bearing them patiently we are not submitting to necessity but resting satisfied with our own good. The effect of these thoughts is, that to whatever extent our minds are contracted by the bitterness which we naturally feel under the cross, to the same extent will they be expanded with spiritual joy. Hence arises thanksgiving, which cannot exist unless joy be felt. But if the praise of the Lord 2024 and thanksgiving can emanate only from a cheerful and gladdened breasts and there is nothing which ought to interrupt these feelings”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 1: Augustine — Confessions, Letters — CHAP. XXXII. -- OF THE PARTICULAR WORKS OF GOD, MORE ESPECIALLY OF MAN.: 47- Thanks to Thee, O Lord. We behold the heaven and the earth, whether the corporeal 206 part, superior and inferior, or the spiritual and corporeal creature; and in the embellishment of these parts, whereof the universal mass of the world or the universal creation consisteth, we see light made, and divided from the darkness. We see the firmament of heaven,' whether the primary body of the world between the spiritual upper waters and the corporeal lower waters, or -- becaus”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 1: Augustine — Confessions, Letters — CHAP. VII.--HE GIVES THANKS TO GOD FOR THE REMISSION OF HIS SINS, AND REMINDS EVERY ONE THAT THE SUPREME GOD MAY HAVE PRESERVED us FROM GREATER SINS.: 15. "What shall I render unto the Lord," x that whilst my memory recalls these things my soul is not appalled at them ? I will love Thee, 0 Lord, and thank Thee, and confess unto Thy name,s because Thou hast put away from me these so wicked and nefarious acts of mine. To Thy grace I attribute it, and to Thy mercy, that Thou hast melted away my sin as it were ice. To Thy grace also I attribute whats”
- 2 Peter (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 2 Peter 1:2: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you,.... By a multiplication of grace may be meant a larger discovery of the love and favour of God; which though it admits of no degrees in itself, being never more or less in God's heart, yet, as to the manifestations of it, it is different, and capable of being increased, and drawn out to a greater length; or else an increase of the internal graces of the Spirit of God, as to the actings and exercise of them; or a larger measure of the gifts of the Spirit, for greater usefulness among them; or a clearer view, and a more enlarged k”