Life is full of exciting things “!”, confusing things “?” conversations “” and to do lists “:”. With life getting thrown at us so fast we forget to add ” , ” to stop to catch our breath, or a “ . ” to just simply stop and begin something new. But what if we started something new? What if we began to punctuate our life with Hallelujah‘s instead of ! ? : , and ?.
Hallelujah is something of an equivalent to “God be praised”, and we say this when we want to worship and rejoice. The Hebrew equivalent, הַלְלוּיָה, is made up of two elements.
“הַלְּלוּ” an exhortation to “praise” and “יָהּ” meaning the name of God.
In the book of Revelation, Chapter 19:6-7, the apostle John wrote;
” . . . Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him the glory! . . .”
Then again in Psalms 113: 1 – 4 it says;
“Praise the Lord!
Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord!
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord
now and forever.
3 Everywhere—from east to west—
praise the name of the Lord.
4 For the Lord is high above the nations;
his glory is higher than the heavens.”
In James 5:13;
“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.”
These Bible passages are only a few of many that show us that praising God, through every season of life, the ! ? : , and ., is something we ought to do often.
Mercy Me released the song “Even If” a few months back, and if you haven’t heard it already, I strongly suggest that you listen to it now.
The lyrics say,
“I know You’re able and I know You can
Save through the fire with Your mighty hand
But even if You don’t
My hope is You alone
These words remind us that even when things don’t go the way we want them to, even when life seems to be falling apart, our eyes should remain steadfast on the Lord, our hearts should remain confident in his promises, and our lips should speak “Hallelujah.” Society tries to tell us that we can only be happy when we look like the model on the cover of Vogue, get an A on that exam you’ve been cramming for, or nail that interview. Most people are only happy when life is presumably “good.” However, based on these Bible passages, it is evident that we are called as Christ followers to walk with a posture of “Hallelujah anyway.”
Hallelujah, even when things aren’t going so great, because God is good all the time.
Instead of questioning why you’re in a season of heartbreak and sorrow, say “Hallelujah,” and praise God for being your cornerstone.
Instead of being overwhelmed by that lengthy to do list sitting on your desk, say “Hallelujah,” and praise God for giving you peace amidst the stress.
Instead of looking back at conversations you had throughout the day as just merely that, say “Hallelujah,” and praise God for the opportunity to communicate his love.
Instead of getting stressed about your hectic, yet exciting schedule, say “Hallelujah,” and praise God for the joy he promises.
The last verse of Even If says;
“It is well with my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul“
He is a good good Father. Constant, Strong, and always faithfully pursuing you. No matter what is going on in your life, whether it’s stressful finals, heartbreak, loss, prom, a new job, a confusing circumstance, a busy season or a bored one, take the punctuation marks you normally use and replace them with “Hallelujah.”
