Tiny Hallelujahs

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

What are you thankful for today? Depending on your current circumstances, you might have a long list at the tip of your tongue, or you might remain close-lipped, with nothing coming to mind.

There are days I’m bursting at the seams with gratitude. My eyes are wide open, and I spot good gifts from God all over the place (see James 1:17). On those days, praise flows from my heart naturally and freely. But if I’m being honest, my heart often suffers from a spiritual drought of thanksgiving. On those spiritually dry days, I need to harness the power of praising God with my tiny hallelujahs.

Psalm 136, a psalm of thanksgiving, recounts God’s steadfast love through every moment of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. This psalm has a rhythmic framework, repeatedly calling God’s people to give thanks to him, “for his steadfast love endures forever.” The psalmist declares God’s goodness as evidenced in the creation of the world (verses 4-9). He then fast-forwards to a step-by-step description of Israel’s miraculous deliverance from slavery.

Like a beautiful melody, the psalm poetically highlights countless ways God revealed his faithfulness to his people, echoing the refrain “his steadfast love endures forever.”

Each verse of Psalm 136 is like a tiny hallelujah, beautifully adding up to a mountain of praise. If God’s people began reciting the psalm with ungrateful hearts, by the end, their dry hearts would have been well watered as they remembered God’s faithfulness in every step of their journey.

Some of the examples of God’s faithfulness feel unexpected. God didn’t rescue his people from the Red Sea altogether; instead, he divided it and directed his people to pass through it (see verse 13) . He didn’t take his people out of the wilderness; rather, he led his people through it (see verse 16). Yet God was with them, leading them and guiding them through each challenge. All these markers from the past remind us to search for God’s fingerprints on every page of our own stories. God is always at work, even when we are blinded by ingratitude or shortsighted from worry.

If it’s hard for you to find big feelings of gratitude today, praise God with your tiny hallelujahs. Resolve to give thanks, even when you don’t feel like it. Each small act of thanksgiving will redirect your gaze to him and add up to a huge mountain that cannot be clouded by a heap of complaints.

Word before World Tiny hallelujahs change our hearts and open our eyes to God’s fingerprints in our lives.

Grow in Grace Make a gratitude list titled “My Tiny Hallelujahs” and place it somewhere you will see it often. Continue to add to it, even in moments when gratitude might not be your first response. The more you look for God’s hand at work, the more your eyes will see God’s faithfulness woven throughout your days.