Sometimes it seems our gratitude is isolated to certain events or occasions. How many people only tell their loved ones how thankful they are to have them in their lives when it’s their birthday? How many children only show their appreciation for their parents when they’re gifted money or told they can get out of their chores? On Thanksgiving Day, how many pre-plan what they’re going to say when it’s their turn to offer what they’re thankful for at the dinner table?

As I consider the occasions that often spark our outward expression of gratitude, I wonder: Is thankfulness meant to be something that comes and goes? I can’t help but feel that, as Christians, this shouldn’t be the case. Rather, gratitude is the very posture we hold in our day-to-day. Thankfulness was never meant to be limited to Thanksgiving or a birthday. Especially for believers, it’s supposed to define our lives.

Joni Eareckson Tada became paralyzed — a quadriplegic — at age 17. She is now 75, and not a day goes by in which she does not suffer from excruciating, chronic pain. Imagine, if you can, pain so severe you can hardly speak; hardly sleep. And yet, when she was still angry at God about what had happened to her, it was some of her Christian friends who encouraged her to find reasons to be thankful. That’s because her friends knew the best thing for Joni was not to sit in her pain and anger. Rather, the best possible remedy, if not for the body, then certainly for the soul, is to be thankful.

Some time later, on her “1 Minute Radio Program,” Joni shared a little more insight into what goes through her head. She said:

“I remember many years ago feeling trapped by my wheelchair. Then a friend showed me 1 Thessalonians 5:18 where it says, ‘In everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.’ At first, I didn’t understand. How can I possibly give thanks for a life of total paralysis? But that’s when my friend wisely said, ‘Joni, that Bible verse doesn’t say to feel thankful; you can’t possibly do that. But it does say to give thanks. Giving thanks has nothing to do with feeling thankful. There’s a big difference between trusting God and having trustful feelings.’ Well, it sounded doable, and so, I started small. I started giving thanks for little things and, over time, God rewarded me for taking those first, shaky steps of faith. He rewarded me with feelings of thankfulness. So, today, give thanks for small things. And your feelings will, one day, catch up.”

I deeply respect people like Joni, who now serve as such beautiful examples of being grateful even when life is difficult. It’s not easy. Otherwise, articles like this wouldn’t need to be written, would they? But Joni is on to something. Let’s give thanks for the small things, every day, and we will inevitably be paving the way to a life of gratitude.

Surely, for some, Thanksgiving is the easiest time to feel thankful when you’re surrounded by friends and family. For others, the holidays symbolize the opposite — severe loneliness and grief. This is just another example of why, especially as Christians, we cannot allow our thankfulness to be limited to Thanksgiving. We’re not always guaranteed a table full of food and surrounded by good company. We’re not guaranteed that tomorrow we’ll be free from illness or sorrow. That doesn’t mean we live in fear that our lives could fall apart at any moment. But we do live understanding that while our God gives generously, it’s not because we deserve it. Simply, it is because He is good, and His goodness means we’re often placed on mountaintops. But here’s the important part: even in the valley, He is still good. So, how do we make sure we remember that?

We remember that God is good, despite our circumstances, by focusing on the ultimate gift He has provided for us. Of course, I’m referring to salvation. Tell me, what greater gift is there than for the rebel to be spared from the wrath of God? What greater blessing could we receive than to be pardoned from the guilt of our sin? What is more beautiful than the fact that despite our imperfections, a perfect Savior loves us, died for us, and delivered us? We were created to be creatures of gratitude because, for those in Christ, we have already received the single most joyful, remarkable, glorious gift that could possibly exist. We’ve already received freedom. We’ve already received grace and mercy. We have the love of God on our side and the power of the Holy Spirit. We serve the King who conquered death. We already have citizenship in heaven.

Thankfulness is not an occasion, but the blood flowing through our veins. We are new creations, already made in His image, and now being perfected to His likeness. One day we will see the other side of glory as we walk the streets of gold. One day, sooner than you think, you’ll be reunited with your Creator. One day, by God’s grace, you will hear the words: “Well done good and faithful servant.” Doesn’t that just warm your heart? But if we want to be edified by these truths, we have to remember them. We must fill our minds with these promises and fix our eyes on Christ. It takes work — intentional work.

Reverend Josh Squires understood this. As he once wrote, “[E]xpressions of genuine heartfelt thanks seem to point others in a palpable way to grace,” but “gratitude is not merely passive and reflexive. It is also active and willful.” It is “when we willingly choose to focus on those things for which we are thankful in the Lord [that] it has a heart-shaping effect.” Like Joni said, the more we can choose to be thankful despite how we feel, the more we will see that affect our lives in ways that ultimately change our lives. As Pastor C.H. Spurgeon put it, “If we gratefully acknowledge what we have, we shall be in better heart for obtaining that which as yet we have not received.”

He went on to say: “To be out of the hospital, to be out of the lunatic asylum, to be out of prison, to be out of hell, do we ever glorify God for these things? An enlightened man is grateful to God for temporal blessings; but he is much more grateful to God for spiritual blessings, for temporal blessings do not last long; they are soon gone. … If we will only think, we shall begin to thank.”

So, yes, let us be thankful for even the temporal blessings God has graciously given us. Perhaps many of these are what will be brought up this Thanksgiving. But concerning the rest of our days, from year’s beginning to year’s end, my prayer for all of us in Christ is that we’re “at all times thoroughly fervent in the praises of the Lord, both with our lips and with our lives, by thanksgiving and thanks living.”