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The Gratitude List.

By Bobby Davis

April 26th, 2026

“I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart.” Psalm 9:1

It wasn’t going to work. It made absolutely no sense. And for the life of me, I had no idea why anyone would dream something like this up and expect it to change anything.

Life had taken a turn for the worse very quickly—first with the loss of the only friends I had (although, admittedly, they had been a very bad influence on me), and now with the loss of my job! It seemed like the more I tried to live a good life, the worse things had gotten.

But then a friend had said something strange. “Bobby, don’t worry about it. It just means God needs you somewhere else!” he said, adding that he thought it would be a good idea for me to write a gratitude list.

A gratitude list?

Grudgingly, I pulled out a sheet of paper, then looked for a pen.

This is so lame! I thought, feeling my impatience ramping up. Okay, what am I grateful for?

Nothing jumped to mind, and the seconds ticked off. Almost a minute went by before I put anything down.

Okay, I guess I’m grateful that I’m alive. That was a start, and considering the dangers I knew God had brought me through, I really was grateful for that.

I guess I’m grateful that I have a family. Another true statement.

And I’m grateful for friends that really care about me. Check.

As my list grew, I realized that by hitting rock bottom, I’d become aware of a loving God who had always been there for me.

My health, a car (such as it is), a roof over my head. The ability to care about others (that was something new), and a new outlook on life. My fledgling faith, which seemed so frail just minutes ago, began to spread its wings.

I’m grateful that I have skills today that will eventually get me another job, I thought. And I’m grateful that someone had just the right words to say when I was feeling so desperate and scared, and I’m grateful that God is in charge of my life and that He has something better for me, and that I really truly know Him, and He’s not the angry God I had always imagined, and….”

Nearly half an hour went by and my list was several pages long. Looking at it again, I thought of how different I felt at that moment. I guessed that the reason a gratitude list works is because it’s impossible to think in two directions at the same time. As someone once noted, “It’s hard to be hateful when you’re grateful!”

Then I remembered someone who said they had a magic, magnifying mind that would make whatever they focused on grow and grow.

That’s funny, I thought. It works. It really does.

So what are you grateful for today? Sit down and write it on paper! Then put it away and experience the joy of coming across an old gratitude list someday—when you least expect it. And remember: the gratitude list in your head is not worth the paper it’s not written on!