I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart;
I will tell of all Your wonders.
I will be glad and exult in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.
…
We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks,
For Your name is near;
Men declare Your wondrous works.
…
There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord,
Nor are there any works like Yours.
All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
And they shall glorify Your name.
For You are great and do wondrous deeds;
You alone are God.

Psalm 9:1; Psalm 75:1; Psalm 86:8-10

What does God have to do in order for me to be grateful, or to worship Him? What is the minimum, smallest gift that would warrant my gratitude in return? Has He done enough?

Just recently, I learned of a lovely Jewish Passover song called “Dayenu“. The word dayenu is an idiom that means “enough for us”. It comes from the root word “day” or “dai“, meaning “enough”, plus the plural-possessive suffix “enu” for “us” or “ours”.

The song lists the wondrous things that God did for the Israelites when He rescued them from Egypt. It reminds us that any one of them would have enough to demonstrate His power and love, but the combination of so many gifts is overwhelming. The full song is in the link above, but the repeated pattern (in my paraphrase) goes like this:

If He had brought us out of Egypt
…but had not parted the Red Sea
……It would have been enough.
If He had parted the Red Sea
…but had not given us the Torah Law at Sinai
……It would have been enough.
If He had given us the Torah
…but had not given manna in the wilderness
……It would have been enough.
If He had given manna in the wilderness
…but had not brought us to the Promised Land
……It would have been enough.

Each of the 15 stanzas in the song is another step along Israel’s journey from slavery in Egypt to becoming God’s chosen nation. Each step builds on the one before it; each was needed to accomplish God’s full purpose. But each is a miracle of His grace, worthy of worship for that one act alone.

The original ancient Dayenu poem has been set to modern music, with several different melodies. Here are a couple of links to the most common tune, each with slight variations in the wording. A word of caution: The chorus is catchy enough to stick in your mind for the rest of the day! You can listen in English here, or in Hebrew with English subtitles here.

The list of examples of God’s gracious gifts does not have to be confined to those of the Exodus, however. There is a moving scene in The Chosen where characters used events from their own lives to form their own Dayenu of gratitude to God. It inspires me to try my own lists. Here are some of what I came up with. What others could you add?

Creation

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained…
…
He established the earth upon its foundations…
…
He sends forth springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
They give drink to every beast of the field;
The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
They lift up their voices among the branches.
He waters the mountains from His upper chambers;
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.
…
O LORD, how many are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all;
The earth is full of Your possessions.

Psalm 8:3; Psalm 104

God did not have to create anything. He has always been sufficient purely in Himself. Each of the wonders that He did choose to create — any one of them on its own — is cause for praise.

If He had created the cosmos,
…but had not created a planet as human-friendly as Earth,
……it would have been enough.
If He had created Earth,
…but had not given it as home to humans created in His own image,
……it would have been enough.
If He had given Earth to humans as their home,
…but had not given the sun and moon and stars,
……it would have been enough.
If He had given sun and moon and stars,
…but had not given us the seasons,
……it would have been enough.
If He had given Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter,
…but had not given mountains and valleys,
……it would have been enough.
If He had given mountains and valleys,
…but had not given rivers and oceans,
……it would have been enough.
If He had given rivers and oceans,
…but had not given plants and animals,
……it would have been enough.

Life

I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
…
For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Psalm 104:33; 139:13-14

The simple fact that I am here, in this time and place, with the ability to write this article, is the culmination of a series of treasures from God. These treasures are so commonplace, so freely given, that it is easy to take them for granted. But each is a blessing that not everyone has received.

If He had given us our breath,
…but had not given sight or hearing,
……it would have been enough ¹.
If He had given sight and hearing,
…but had not given arms and legs,
……it would have been enough ².
If He had given arms and legs,
…but had not given healthy bodies,
……it would have been enough ³.
If He had given healthy bodies,
…but had not given healthy minds,
……it would have been enough ⁴.
If He had given complete health,
…but had not given loving families,
……it would have been enough.
If He had given loving families,
…but had not given supportive friends,
……it would have been enough.
If He had given friends and family,
…but had not given freedom,
……it would have been enough ⁵.
If He had given freedom,
…but had not given resources for food, clothing, or shelter,
……it would have been enough.
If He had given basic necessities,
…but had not given any luxuries beyond that,
……it would have been enough.
If He had given material luxury,
…but had not given opportunity to learn and grow and be creative,
……it would have been enough.
If He had given opportunities,
…but at the cost of effort and hardship,
……it would have been enough.

God’s Presence

You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
…
Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Psalm 16:11; Psalm 9:10

At each point along the path from the Garden of Eden to the Garden of Gethsemane and beyond, God could have chosen to stop. Nothing — other than His own perfect nature — required Him to save humanity, or even to interact with them in the first place. Even if He had not followed through with what He promised, we would have no right to complain. He would still deserve our gratitude and worship for even beginning such an extravagant plan.

If He had created humans,
…but had not walked with them in the garden of Eden,
……it would have been enough.
If He had walked in Eden with Adam and Eve,
…but had not promised a Savior when they failed,
……it would have been enough.
If He had chosen Abraham as the lineage for that Savior,
…but had not provided a sacrifice to replace Isaac,
……it would have been enough.
If He had intervened for Isaac,
…but had not brought his grandson Joseph to power in Egypt,
……it would have been enough.
If He had guided Joseph,
…but had not sustained his descendants through 400 years of slavery,
……it would have been enough.
If He had sustained the Hebrews,
…but had not sent Moses to lead them out of slavery,
……it would have been enough.
If He had sent Moses,
…but had not formed the Israelites into a nation,
……it would have been enough.
If He had formed Israel,
…but had not sent Jesus there to be born as a man,
……it would have been enough.

Salvation

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
…
And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

John 3:16; 1 John 5:11

Out of everything He’s done, is there one thing that stands above the rest? Yes! He made a way for me to be with Him despite my sin. He provides this gift at no cost to me, but at great cost to Himself. If Jesus were the only gift I were ever to receive, it would be more than enough!

Here is a version of the Dayenu song with a stanza added to include the Gospel.

Note: A similar article on this site is Reason to Praise.

1. Just ask the folks at the National Family Association for DeafBlind.
2. Just ask Nick Vujicic.
3. Just ask Joni Earickson Tada.
4. Just ask Christa Holland.
5. Just ask the past American slaves, or these current Christian slaves in Pakistan.