Designing for Gratitude

Healthy Leaders | Issue 61

Nov 21, 2025

In this issue of Healthy Leaders, we test our design skills to get more grateful.

This time of year in America, we celebrate Thanksgiving, a holiday set in place by our first president, George Washington. He started out his Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789 with these words:

“Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor…”

You may or may not celebrate this holiday in your nation, and if you’re American you may not even want to celebrate it. But I’ve still found it a good excuse to reflect on giving thanks to God, to whom we always owe gratitude whatever day of the year or country we’re in.

Biblically, thanksgiving is understood as an offering or a confession. Confession, especially in the Old Testament context, is not just about telling someone your sin. Rather, it is a proclamation or an agreement that something is true.

For instance, when confessing a sin (e.g. James 5:16), we are agreeing with God on what sin is. We are proclaiming His holiness and our sin, and that we need the blood of Christ to make us right with Him. If we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9), we are agreeing with God that He is Lord over all, and proclaiming that we submit to Him as Lord over all.

In the same way, when we give thanks to God, we are proclaiming that He is good and has done good things for us. We are agreeing with Him that we depend on Him, and that He has been kind to us in ways we could never deserve or earn.

Gratitude is a repeated command (44 times!) in Scripture:

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1)

And a lifestyle of thankfulness to God, along with joy and unceasing prayer, is the will of God for all of us!

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Is it any surprise, then, that scientists and doctors continue to discover new health benefits to living a life full of thanksgiving, such as emotional health, better sleep, reducing depression and anxiety, and heart health? Seems as though Paul was onto something, probably because he got his information from the One who created us Himself.

Gratitude is a vital part of our health as leaders in our respective homes, communities, ministries, and churches. It presents us with an opportunity not only to acknowledge our dependency on God, but to experience His work in our lives more fully! The more we exercise our “gratitude muscles,” the more we train ourselves to recognize His provision and deliverance for us in real time.

True thanksgiving, however, is more than just saying “thank you” because it’s what we ought to do to be polite. True thanksgiving flows out of a deep, profound experience of the goodness and love of God. When we turn to Him and really look at Him, loving and enjoying Him, the most natural response will be worship and thanksgiving!

Gratitude also strengthens our connection to our community. Whenever we express thanks to someone, we are simultaneously recognizing our need and desire for their help, and that their kindness means a lot to us. This increases trust in one another, and helps us to grow in character qualities like humility, joy, and kindness ourselves.

It’s easy for us to forget gratitude, often out of laziness, self-reliance, or busyness. We rush through our days thinking little about how much we really depend on God and other people, or about how much kindness and grace we really receive on a daily basis.

How then can we grow in gratitude?

A Design for Thankfulness

As we’ve been discussing recently here on Healthy Leaders, this is a great opportunity to practice simple design!

We already have a clearly defined goal: to grow in gratitude. Now let’s put together a few simple, Four-Dynamic ways we can do this (with help from our handy Dynamics of Transformation Chart).

Spiritual Dynamic:

Ask God to give you a more thankful heart, and make you more alert to His kindness and goodness toward you.
Meditate on (and pray using) Psalms of thanksgiving, such as Psalm 100, 118, or 136.
Reflect: are there any areas of your life where you are practicing un-thankfulness? Confess and repent of any ingratitude in your heart, claiming Jesus’ blood to cleanse you of it.
Go before God and thank Him for His gifts of salvation, protection, and provision!

Relational Dynamic:

Get together with a few other believers and share several things you’re thankful for with each other.
Ask a trusted friend to help keep you accountable to avoid being ungrateful, and to remind you of God’s goodness wherever they see it so you can give thanks for it.

Experiential Dynamic:

Practice giving thanks to God! When you get up in the morning, thank Him for three things. When you go to bed at night, thank Him for three more.
During your day, when something good happens, stop and give thanks to God for it in that moment. When something bad happens, thank God that He is still with you and knows what’s going on.
When someone offers you kindness, thank them sincerely for it.

Instructional Dynamic:

Study how Paul and the other apostles give thanks in the epistles. What can you learn from them?
Together with a friend (relational dynamic!), do a study of thankfulness in the Bible.
Memorize 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
Listen to Malcolm Webber’s teaching on gratitude, “The Healing Power of Thanksgiving.”

What about you?

What other spiritual, relational, experiential, or instructional design elements would you add? Drop them in the comments!

Until next time, we’re with you.

— Chris

Healthy Leaders