“Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls’” (Jeremiah 6:16)
Happy Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because it reminds us of those things that make life worth living: the joy of being with others, and making time for gratitude and reflection. Life is precious, and our Creator created us to enjoy the life he has given us. God has also provided us His wisdom for what creates joyous living and human flourishing. God’s ways are woven into the fabric of the universe; listening to Him and living in His ways are like “going with the grain” of the universe. As God told the Israelites, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life, that you and your children may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days” (Deut. 30:19, 20).
Following the ways of God is good for your soul and your health, and this is being confirmed by recent discoveries in psychology and neuroscience. At this time of reflection and thanksgiving, consider these recent confirmations from science about the beauty of God’s ancient paths:
GIVE THANKS
Research has shown that being thankful on a regular basis produces positive health effects, including reduced stress, better emotional and social well-being, better sleep quality, less depression and anxiety, improved heart and cardiovascular system, and even extending our lives.[1] It is not joy that brings gratitude; it is gratitude that brings joy in our hearts.[2] Being thankful to God delivers us from our bondage to fear and worry. Giving thanks reminds us of all that God has done so that we can remember that he is the one who can deliver us from our present situation. Giving thanks also brings contentment, which breaks us free from the grip and anxiety of greed. God tells us to be thankful for our own good! “It is good to give thanks to the Lord” (Ps. 92:1); “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6, 7).
HELP OTHERS
Recent research has revealed a surprising way to reduce stress in our lives—helping others! A study of stress in the workplace published in Industrial Relations Journal in 2024 revealed that of out of 90 different stress-reducing strategies (including mediation, massage, and breathing exercises), only one consistently reduced stress: serving others. Physiologist Rebecca Heiss highlights the beautiful simplicity of looking for ways to help others in her book Springboard: Transform Stress to Work for You.[3] Heiss writes, “In a world obsessed with self-optimization and individual wellness solutions, the most radical act might be the simplest one: noticing when someone else needs help, and then providing it.”[4] “Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
FORGIVE
Neuroscientists are recently understanding the negative effects of hate and revenge on our health and brains. The research reveals that revenge is addictive. Getting revenge, or even thinking about it, releases dopamine and becomes as addictive as any drug. Revenge is not only addictive, but it also creates anxiety, stress, and fear. But, as psychiatrist James Kimmel, Jr. writes, “neuroscience has also recently shown a simple and potent method of addressing revenge and addiction and violence. It’s called forgiveness. Forgiveness is a freely available wonder drug that reduces—rather than merely cover up—the pain of grievances, eliminates revenge craving, and bolsters executive function. We now have neuroscience support for the ancient forgiveness teachings of Jesus….Imagine what would happen if each of us, and our political leaders, understood two simple words: ‘I forgive.’”[5] “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (Col. 3:13).
BE WITH OTHERS
A recent Stanford study revealed that the lack of social connection is a greater detriment to health than obesity, smoking, and high blood pressure.[6] In her book, The How of Happiness, psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky describes and explores “happiness activities” that make for happier people and more well-being, and one critical activity is that they nurture social relationships—they devote a great amount of time to family and friends. Lyubomirsky writes, “The centrality of social connections to our health and well-being cannot be overstressed, and it may be the single most important factor in happiness.”[7]
WE NEED TO BE LOVED AND TO LOVE
But sociologists, psychologists, and even neurobiologists have also concluded that we don’t just need acquaintances, we need intimate relationships–we need love. A longitudinal study conducted by Harvard Medical School, called the “Grant Study,” concluded that love is the primary key to human happiness: “The seventy-five years and twenty million dollars expended on the Grant Study points…to a straightforward five-word conclusion: ‘Happiness is love. Full stop.”[8] James Olthius writes that “Love is who we are…It is in loving (or not loving) that we are (or are not) human.”[9] It seems the “secret sauce” for human flourishing is this thing called love. We humans need to be loved and to learn how to love others.
The center of all of the ancient teachings of the Bible is just that—let yourself be loved by God and let His love help you love others. To love God was the “greatest” and first command God gave to the people of Israel, and the second was the natural outflow of the first—to love others like we love ourselves. This sounds more like an invitation than a command. Love!
The Bible is really just a love story. This love story describes humans as created in the “image” of this God—relational to the core, just like God is relational in nature. God created humans in love, for love, and to love. God loved us into existence and continues to love us back to himself, even entering the story so that this love story may never end. God himself has suffered with us in all of our pain, hurt, and even death, and has assured us through the resurrection of Jesus (God with us) that God is Present with us and that nothing, not even death, can separate us from His love. He in turn invites us into his love story, creating a community of love that He invites you into, and as we enter into his love story we find the connection, love, and meaning we so desperately need.
Love is a mystery—once we accept being loved unconditionally, love changes us to love in return, and we begin to realize we don’t really know love until we also start loving. Jesus teaches us how to love; in fact, “this whole world is a school set up by Love Himself to teach us to love.”[10] As we begin to start loving others, we realize what we receive from loving others is part of love’s great gift. Learning to love is like exercising. When you exercise, all the toxins drain from your body. It’s the same with love. As we stretch our capacity to love, we feel the toxins of selfishness and self-pity being drained and we are free, free from our selfish ways but also free from fear. “Perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). The more we love, the less fear we have. It turns out the best thing we can do for ourselves is to love others. “When Jesus commanded us to love our neighbors as ourselves, it was not just for our neighbors’ sakes that he commanded it, but for our own sakes as well. Not to give of ourselves to the human beings we know who may be starving not for food but for what we have in our hearts to nourish them with is to be, ourselves, diminished and crippled as human beings.”[11]
This Thanksgiving, ask God to fill you with his Presence and drink deeply of His love. And tell and show someone else how much you love them. “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His steadfast love endures forever” (Ps. 136:1).
[1] See Maureen Salaman, “Gratitude enhances health, brings happiness — and may even lengthen lives” (Sept. 11, 2024), Harvard Health Publishing, https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/gratitude-enhances-health-brings-happiness-and-may-even-lengthen-lives-202409113071
[2] See David Steindl-Rast, Gratefulness: The Heart of Prayer (Paulist Press/Ramsey, 1984), 204.
[3] Rebecca Heiss, Springboard: Transform Stress to Work for You (Ideapress, 2025).
[4] Rebecca Heiss, “I Study Stress. This Cure Surprised—and Helped—Me,” The Wall Street Journal, August 28, 2025.
[5] James Kimmell, Jr., “This is Your Brain on Revenge,” The Wall Street Journal, June 5, 2025.
[6] Emma Sepala, “Connectedness and Health: The Social Science of Connection,” The Stanford Medicine Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, May, 2014.
[7] Sonja Lyubomirsky, The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want (Penguin, 2007), 125.
[8] Scott Stossel, “What Makes Us Happy, Revisited,” The Atlantic, April 24, 2013.
[9] James Olthius, The Beautiful Risk: A New Psychology of Loving and Being Loved (Zondervan: 2001), 69.
[10] Peter Kreeft, The God Who Loves You (Ignatius Press, 1988), 120.
[11] Frederick Buechner, Longing for Home: Recollections and Reflections (Harper SanFrancisco, 1996), 139.