God Commands Gratitude

We teach children to say “thank you,” but adults often forget. Gratitude isn’t just good manners—it’s obedience. The Bible calls every believer to live with a heart continually turned toward God in thanksgiving. It is therefore a command to be obeyed, not an occasional emotion.

The apostle Paul put it plainly: “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:18). While the context of this verse is not critical to understand what he meant, it does help us appreciate what he said. The Thessalonian church was young and suffering. Persecution had forced Paul to flee while these new believers endured hostility at home. 

When Paul wrote back, he encouraged them not to see trials as evidence of God’s absence but as the means of His refining work. His exhortation to give thanks was the third in a three-part series delivered in rapid-fire. The two before it were “rejoice always” and “pray without ceasing.” These three commands form the posture of a mature Christian—joyful, prayerful, and thankful—none of them are optional. It’s “the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

The phrase “give thanks” comes from the Greek eucharisteō, the same root from which we get “Eucharist.” It literally means “to express gratitude,” and in this verse, it’s written as an ongoing command. In other words, keep on giving thanks. Gratitude is meant to be a continual rhythm of obedience in the Christian life.

Paul echoed this theme to nearly every church he wrote. To the Colossians, he said, “As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him… abounding in thanksgiving” (Col. 2:6-7). The image is one of overflow—as if gratitude were the natural spillover of a heart rooted in Christ. Later, he told them to “be thankful” (Col. 3:15), listing gratitude among the Christian virtues we are to “put on” each day—compassion, kindness, humility, patience, forgiveness, and peace (Col. 3:12-14). Gratitude, like these, is part of the wardrobe of the believer.

To the Philippians, Paul added another dimension, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6). Even our prayers should be clothed with gratitude—because we pray to a God who has never failed us and never will. Thankfulness accompanies faith. It reminds us that the same God who answered before will answer again.

To the Ephesians, Paul tied thanksgiving directly to the Spirit-filled life: “Be filled with the Spirit… giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:18-20). Gratitude is therefore characteristic of the spirit-filled life. When the Spirit fills us, thankfulness flows naturally.

God doesn’t ask us to feel thankful.
He commands us to be grateful.

Paul, however, was not the only one who taught this. The command to be grateful is found all over the Bible. In the psalms, however, it is most noticeably common. “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High” (Ps. 50:14). “Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!” (Ps. 105:1). And again, “Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!” (Ps. 107:8). The psalms remind us that thanksgiving is not seasonal nor annual. It cannot be reduced to a holiday. It is an eternal command. As long as God is gracious, He is worthy of thanks and worthy of our gratitude in the presence of others.

Gratitude, then, is both our command and our calling. It is how believers respond to grace, how worship overflows from faith, and how obedience takes shape in the everyday. God doesn’t ask us to feel thankful. He commands us to be grateful. In doing so, we remember who He is and what He has done.

So pause for a moment and consider: How often does gratitude shape your day? When blessings feel small or trials feel large, God’s will remains the same—give thanks in all circumstances. Gratitude may begin as obedience, but in time, it becomes joy.

This article was adapted from the book Grateful Again by Jacob Abshire.