Untitled

{"id":5850,"date":"2024-07-11T05:50:45","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T10:50:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2024\/07\/a-new-study-demonstrates-the-amazing-power-of-gratitude\/"},"modified":"2024-07-11T05:50:45","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T10:50:45","slug":"a-new-study-demonstrates-the-amazing-power-of-gratitude","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2024\/07\/a-new-study-demonstrates-the-amazing-power-of-gratitude\/","title":{"rendered":"A new study demonstrates the amazing power of gratitude"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Amidst all the bad news in the news this week, let\u2019s focus today on some good news.<\/p>\n

A new study of gratitude and mortality among older adults (in this case, older US female nurses) found<\/span><\/a> that those who more frequently noticed and felt grateful for positive experiences tended to live longer. This report is by no means an outlier.<\/p>\n

For example, psychologists recruited<\/span><\/a> a group of participants and asked one third to write up to five things for which they were grateful that week. A second group was asked to record hassles or irritations; a third was told to record events that affected them over the week. After doing this for ten weeks, those in the gratitude group:<\/p>\n

\nRated their life more favorably than those in the other two groups, both with regard to life as a whole and in relation to the upcoming week.<\/li>\nExperienced fewer symptoms of physical illness.<\/li>\n
Spent significantly more time exercising.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

In another study<\/span><\/a>, participants who wrote letters of gratitude to other people were happier and more satisfied with life. They also experienced decreased symptoms of depression.<\/p>\n

Cicero would not have been surprised, calling gratitude \u201cnot only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.\u201d Plato likewise claimed, \u201cA grateful mind is a great mind which eventually attracts to itself great things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scripture similarly commands us to \u201cgive thanks in all circumstances\u201d (1 Thessalonians 5:18) and to give thanks \u201calways and for everything to God the Father\u201d (Ephesians 5:20).<\/p>\n

Why?<\/p>\n

How?<\/p>\n

And how does this discussion relate to the massive cultural issues we face today?<\/p>\n

The great grief of my life<\/h2>\n \ Gratitude in challenging times does not require naivety or minimize the suffering we face. Nor would I suggest that we will always find reasons for gratitude that outweigh the pain to which we are responding.<\/p>\n \ I am grateful for the wonderful support our family received when our oldest son was diagnosed with cancer, but I would much rather he not have experienced that ordeal. The same with our grandson who is continuing his leukemia treatments; we are very grateful that he is doing well, but we would much rather he and his family not have to fight this battle.<\/p>\n I am grateful for the ways I learned to trust God more deeply when my father died<\/span><\/a> at the age of fifty-five, but I wish he had lived many more years. The great grief of my life is that my father never met my sons.<\/p>\n My purpose is not to commend gratitude as an end in itself. Rather, my principle reason for encouraging gratitude<\/span><\/a> to God in the midst of adversity is that it can turn adversity into greater reliance on him.<\/p>\n Paul testified that he had \u201clearned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need\u201d (Philippians 4:12). \u201cPlenty\u201d and \u201cabundance\u201d bring their own temptations to self-reliance. Moses was grieved that when the Israelites \u201cgrew fat, stout, and sleek,\u201d they \u201cforsook God\u201d and \u201cwere unmindful of the Rock that bore you\u201d (Deuteronomy 32:15, 18).<\/p>\n By contrast, looking for ways God is at work in challenging times encourages us to trust his omnipotence and grace. David could testify regarding his past experience with God: \u201cI know that the LORD saves his anointed\u201d (Psalm 20:6a). As a result, he could trust him with the future: \u201cHe will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand\u201d (v. 6b). And with the present: \u201cSome trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God\u201d (v. 7).<\/p>\n As J. Warner Wallace noted on a recent Denison Forum Podcast<\/span><\/a>, this hope should fill us with gratitude that only believers can share.<\/p>\n

\u201cViewing a movie after you\u2019ve read the book\u201d<\/h2>\n \ How does this work in practice?<\/p>\n \nAs a native Houstonian, I am grieving for the millions in the city who are still without power<\/span><\/a> in the midst of dangerous heat and humidity. But I am grateful for the thousands who are mobilizing<\/span><\/a> to restore electricity and for the many churches and ministries who are serving<\/span><\/a> those in need.<\/li>\nAs Russia\u2019s horrific offensive<\/span><\/a> against children and other innocent victims continues, I am grateful for the Ukrainians\u2019 incredible resolve and courage.<\/li>\nAs controversy regarding President Biden\u2019s future<\/span><\/a> escalates<\/span><\/a>, I am grateful to live in a nation where we are free to vote as we wish<\/span><\/a> and to speak our minds regarding even the most powerful among us.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n \ And as I continue to speak biblical truth to the issues of our day, I am deeply grateful for the providential hand of God in our ministry. I take heart from Oswald Chambers\u2019 observation:<\/p>\n \ \u201cThe spiritual saint never believes circumstances to be haphazard, or thinks of his life as secular and sacred; he sees everything he is dumped down in as the means of securing the knowledge of Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/mark><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n \ Max Lucado wrote:<\/p>\n "\n \ God is using your struggle to toughen you up. It\u2019s like viewing a movie after you\u2019ve read the book. When something bad happens, everyone else gasps at the crisis on the screen. But not you. Why? You\u2019ve read the book. You know how the good guy gets out of the tight spot.<\/p>\n \ God views your life with the same confidence. He\u2019s not only read your story, he wrote it. His perspective is different, and his purpose is clear. One of God\u2019s cures for weak faith? A good, healthy struggle.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \ Lucado therefore encourages us to \u201cjoin with Isaiah who resolved, \u2018I will trust in him and not be afraid!\u2019\u201d (Isaiah 12:2 NLT).<\/p>\n \ Why do you need such \u201ctrust\u201d today?<\/p>\n NOTE:<\/b>\u00a0Today is the last day to give! Denison Forum\u2019s Summer Campaign ends tomorrow, and we need your support to end it strong. Please help reach the $550,000 Summer Campaign goal \u2014 and be a part of transforming lives with Christ-centered content.\u00a0GIVE NOW<\/u><\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n Thursday news to know:<\/h2>\n\nAlec Baldwin\u2019s trial starts nearly three years after \u201cRust\u201d shooting<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\nAmerican workers have quit quitting, for now<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\nUS intel chief says Iran is attempting to stoke Gaza protests<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n250-year-old musket balls from \u201cShot Heard Round the World\u201d found in Concord, Massachusetts<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n On this day in 1804: Aaron Burr slays Alexander Hamilton in duel<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n**Quote for the day:<\/h2>\n******* * \u201cGod will not permit any troubles to come upon us, unless he has a specific plan by which great blessing can come out of the difficulty.\u201d \u2014Peter Marshall<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" * *******Amidst all the bad news in the news this week, let\u2019s focus today on some good news. A new study of gratitude and mortality among older adults (in this case, older US female nurses) found that those who more frequently…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4396,"featured_media":5853,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nA new study demonstrates the amazing power of gratitude<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Amidst all the bad news in the news this week, let\u2019s focus today on some good news. A new study of gratitude and mortality among older adults (in this case, older US female nurses) found that those who more frequently…\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2024\/07\/a-new-study-demonstrates-the-amazing-power-of-gratitude\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A new study demonstrates the amazing power of gratitude\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Amidst all the bad news in the news this week, let\u2019s focus today on some good news. A new study of gratitude and mortality among older adults (in this case, older US female nurses) found that those who more frequently…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2024\/07\/a-new-study-demonstrates-the-amazing-power-of-gratitude\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Denison Forum\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-07-11T10:50:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jim Denison\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jim Denison\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2024\/07\/a-new-study-demonstrates-the-amazing-power-of-gratitude\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2024\/07\/a-new-study-demonstrates-the-amazing-power-of-gratitude\/\",\"name\":\"A new study demonstrates the amazing power of gratitude\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-11T10:50:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-11T10:50:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/#\/schema\/person\/51ebc15f5126c30a64ca0dece9587a1f\"},\"description\":\"Amidst all the bad news in the news this week, let\u2019s focus today on some good news. A new study of gratitude and mortality among older adults (in this case, older US female nurses) found that those who more frequently…\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2024\/07\/a-new-study-demonstrates-the-amazing-power-of-gratitude\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2024\/07\/a-new-study-demonstrates-the-amazing-power-of-gratitude\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2024\/07\/a-new-study-demonstrates-the-amazing-power-of-gratitude\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A new study demonstrates the amazing power of gratitude\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/\",\"name\":\"Denison Forum\",\"description\":\"The Denison Forum exists to thoughtfully engage the issues of the day from a biblical perspective.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/#\/schema\/person\/51ebc15f5126c30a64ca0dece9587a1f\",\"name\":\"Jim Denison\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51d438af4c106a9fb95355d1b88ee88d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51d438af4c106a9fb95355d1b88ee88d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jim Denison\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/author\/jdenison\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A new study demonstrates the amazing power of gratitude","description":"Amidst all the bad news in the news this week, let\u2019s focus today on some good news. A new study of gratitude and mortality among older adults (in this case, older US female nurses) found that those who more frequently…","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2024\/07\/a-new-study-demonstrates-the-amazing-power-of-gratitude\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A new study demonstrates the amazing power of gratitude","og_description":"Amidst all the bad news in the news this week, let\u2019s focus today on some good news. A new study of gratitude and mortality among older adults (in this case, older US female nurses) found that those who more frequently…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2024\/07\/a-new-study-demonstrates-the-amazing-power-of-gratitude\/","og_site_name":"Denison Forum","article_published_time":"2024-07-11T10:50:45+00:00","author":"Jim Denison","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jim Denison","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2024\/07\/a-new-study-demonstrates-the-amazing-power-of-gratitude\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2024\/07\/a-new-study-demonstrates-the-amazing-power-of-gratitude\/","name":"A new study demonstrates the amazing power of gratitude","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-07-11T10:50:45+00:00","dateModified":"2024-07-11T10:50:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/#\/schema\/person\/51ebc15f5126c30a64ca0dece9587a1f"},"description":"Amidst all the bad news in the news this week, let\u2019s focus today on some good news. A new study of gratitude and mortality among older adults (in this case, older US female nurses) found that those who more frequently…","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2024\/07\/a-new-study-demonstrates-the-amazing-power-of-gratitude\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2024\/07\/a-new-study-demonstrates-the-amazing-power-of-gratitude\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/2024\/07\/a-new-study-demonstrates-the-amazing-power-of-gratitude\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A new study demonstrates the amazing power of gratitude"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/","name":"Denison Forum","description":"The Denison Forum exists to thoughtfully engage the issues of the day from a biblical perspective.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/#\/schema\/person\/51ebc15f5126c30a64ca0dece9587a1f","name":"Jim Denison","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51d438af4c106a9fb95355d1b88ee88d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/51d438af4c106a9fb95355d1b88ee88d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Jim Denison"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/author\/jdenison\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4396"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/denisonforum\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} "