Never Stop Being Grateful, Because God Never Stops Being Good

 

Life, in all its simplicity and complexity, is a gift. Every morning I wake up, every breath that fills my lungs, is a quiet reminder that God has never ceased to be good. And in the middle of routines, trials, laughter, and tears, gratitude becomes not just a fleeting feeling, but a way of seeing the world. To be grateful is to learn to look at creation, family, hope, and even struggles with eyes open to the goodness of the One who gave us life.

The psalmist expressed it with words that never lose their power: “O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever” (Psalm 136:1). This declaration is not limited to a time or circumstance. It doesn’t say, “God is good when everything goes well,” nor “God is good when there is abundance,” but rather affirms with eternal certainty that His goodness never ceases. Even when human life changes, He remains constant. Even when the heart falters, He does not stop sustaining us.

I have learned that gratitude does not depend on what I have or what I lack, but on recognizing where all things come from. “What hast thou that thou didst not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). Every step, every achievement, every breath, even every trial that seems impossible to endure, is part of a divine tapestry woven with love. And when one understands this, life is no longer seen as a string of coincidences, but as living evidence that we are children of a Heavenly Father who never abandons us.

Creation itself teaches us to give thanks. The Book of Mormon declares: “All things bear record of him” (Moses 6:63). The sunrise painting the horizon in gold, the murmur of the river refreshing the earth, the seed germinating in silence beneath the soil—all sing the same truth, that God is still good. It doesn’t take much to feel it, only a heart willing to recognize it.

When you lift your eyes to the night sky and contemplate the stars, it is impossible not to feel small and at the same time infinitely loved. The psalmist wrote: “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” (Psalm 8:3–4). And yet, in His goodness, He does visit us. He blesses us with family, with friendships, with the ability to feel love, to laugh, to weep, to learn.

Gratitude transforms the human heart. It frees us from complaint and resentment. It lifts us above trials. Alma understood this when he taught the Zoramites: “And now … he that receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious” (Alma 7:23). He did not say “he that receiveth only good things,” but all things. Because in the eyes of faith, even pain becomes a teacher, even loss becomes an opportunity to grow, and even waiting becomes preparation.

A grateful soul learns to see the hidden miracles in the ordinary. It learns to recognize that no day is too gray, no night too long, in which one cannot find a ray of God’s goodness. “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Not in some things, not only in the easy ones, but in everything. Because in giving thanks, we open the doors of our hearts and let peace come in.

I have noticed that when I stop being grateful, I become blind. Blind to daily gifts, blind to God’s love, blind to the lessons He wants to teach me. But when I practice gratitude, my eyes open. It is as if life itself becomes more vibrant. What once seemed small turns sacred. What once seemed routine becomes meaningful. And what once seemed heavy becomes a reminder that God is still with me.

The supreme example of gratitude is seen in the Savior. Even in His moments of greatest anguish, He gave thanks. Before distributing the loaves and fishes, “he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks” (Matthew 15:36). Before raising the cup at the Last Supper, “he took bread, and gave thanks” (Luke 22:19). And even in Gethsemane, when the weight of the whole world rested upon His shoulders, His prayer was an act of submission and trust in the Father’s will.

Christ’s gratitude did not depend on external circumstances, but on His perfect faith in the goodness of God. And if He, who suffered more than any human being could suffer, was able to give thanks, how could we not do the same in our smaller struggles?

The Book of Mormon tells of Alma’s people, who were oppressed and enslaved, but in the midst of their suffering “did pour out their hearts to him” and He “did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease” (Mosiah 24:12–15). They were not freed immediately, but they learned to give thanks even in the midst of trial. And in the end, they were delivered. This is how God works. First, He teaches us to trust and give thanks, and then He shows us that His goodness never fails.

Gratitude also unites us with others. When we recognize God’s goodness, it becomes impossible not to reflect it in how we treat our neighbor. Gratitude makes us more humble, more patient, more generous. King Benjamin taught that when we serve one another, we are only in the service of God (Mosiah 2:17–24). To serve is to give thanks, because it is to acknowledge that what we receive is not ours alone but must be shared.

I have seen gratitude change entire families. When a father gives thanks for his wife, his children, and the God who gave him that family, the home becomes a sanctuary of love. When a mother gives thanks for the simple bread she can place on the table, children learn to value the small things. When children learn to pray with gratitude each night, their hearts are prepared to recognize God in all things.

And gratitude is not just a private act, but a public testimony. When we give thanks, we preach without words. When we acknowledge God out loud, we invite others to see His goodness. In a world rushing forward, obsessed with what is missing, forgetting the eternal, gratitude is a spiritual act of resistance. It is a way of saying: “I know in whom I have trusted” (2 Nephi 4:19).

Gratitude prepares us to receive more. The Lord declared: “He who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him” (Doctrine and Covenants 78:19). It is a divine law: those who recognize blessings receive even greater ones. Because God does not give with closed hands but with open ones, and He trusts more in those who know how to recognize and care for what they are given.

When I think of all this, I understand that I must never stop being grateful. Because God never stops being good. His goodness does not depend on my merits, but on His love. His mercy does not run out with my mistakes, but is renewed every morning. His patience with me is not measured by my weakness, but by His infinite grace.

That is why, today and always, I want to say: thank You. Thank You for life, for family, for faith, for the trials that shape me, for the joys that sustain me. Thank You for the scriptures that guide me, for prayer that connects me, for the sacrifice of Christ that redeems me. Thank You for being my Father, for never leaving me, for teaching me every day that everything around me proclaims the same truth: God is good—always.