A Grateful People

The Hebrew term for gratitude is hakarat ha’tov, which literally means ‘to recognise the good’. The neat thing about recognising the good is that when we start with even the smallest of things it multiplies and we find ourselves with more and more things to be grateful for.

We are told in scripture to give thanks in ALL things. No exceptions are made for the difficult circumstances. Actually, these times of trying are the times we need this advice the most. Why? Because the act of giving thanks is reminding us that #1 God is worthy of our gratitude and #2 it is for our benefit as we are uplifted in the process. So, even when it’s a tough road to find gratitude, it is still accomplishing a dual purpose.

Psalm 106:1 Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.

As we take our eyes off of ourselves and think about His love alone, let alone all of His other amazing attributes, we find that our hearts are ‘righted’. Our perspective changes. We begin to appreciate what we have and optimism begins to build towards our lives.

Psalm 95:2 Let us come before Him with thanksgiving. Let us sing songs of praise to Him.

I was interested to learn that in Judaism, nearly every prayer begins with the words, “Blessed are You, Lord, our God… / Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu”. What a great way to give thanks as we come before Him.

In Hebrew, bracha (which means blessing) shares the same root with the word for knee – berech. So, when we say a blessing and are on our knees before God, we are in a position of gratitude. Humility is a part of this gratitude, for without Him we are nothing.

We can keep going with this examination of roots of Hebrew words and find that the word for a Jewish person (Yehudi in Hebrew) also has the same root as giving thanks – which is hada’a in Hebrew. So, whereas the Jewish people are often called ‘People of the Book’, it is actually more correct linguistically to call them “the Grateful People”.

Now, we are not trying to BE Jewish, but rather to learn from their wisdom and values. With all the references to being grateful, giving thanks, coming before Him with thanksgiving, etc., etc., it would seem to be a very powerful concept that matters a lot to God whether we are Jewish or Christian, or Muslim (yes, one of the most important duties in Islam is to be grateful to God for His blessings.). Many Jewish people start off their daily prayers with Modeh Ani Lefanecha / I will give thanks before You. We should learn from them.

It expresses gratitude to God for the gift of another day. Is there a better way to start our day? So, let’s focus on hakarat ha’tov , recognising the good. Let’s be a grateful people.