Dayenu: Turning Gratitude Into Momentum

Have you ever watched The Chosen? There’s a powerful moment where the Jews sing a song and mention the word Dayenu!

Now, Dayenu means “it would have been enough.” It’s a Hebrew expression of gratitude — a declaration that each act of God’s mercy, no matter how small, is worthy of thanks. It’s part of a traditional Jewish Passover song, and it goes something like this;

• “If You (God) had brought us out of Egypt and not parted the Red Sea — Dayenu! (It would have been enough!)”
• “If You had parted the Red Sea but not led us through on dry land — Dayenu! (It would have been enough!)”
• “If You had given us manna in the wilderness but not the Sabbath — Dayenu! (It would have been enough!)”

Each line echoes a heart that recognizes God’s goodness — one that says, Lord, every mercy You show is more than I deserve. But when I think about the Israelites in the wilderness, I can’t help but draw a contrast. They didn’t sing Dayenu. They did the opposite.

They complained!

They stood before the Red Sea and said, “Were there no graves in Egypt that you brought us out here to die?” They forgot that they were already free — that freedom itself was a miracle they hadn’t earned.

They saw the waters part before them, walked through on dry land, and watched Pharaoh’s army drown — yet when they got hungry, they murmured. When they got thirsty, they quarreled. God gave them manna, and when they grew tired of it, He gave them quail. He led them with a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. Their clothes didn’t wear out, their feet didn’t swell, their sandals held strong through the harshest desert journey.

And still, when they stood at the edge of the Promised Land, they said, “God brought us here to kill us.”

Guess what — God took His hands off.

They entered the wilderness with God on their side, but through persistent ingratitude, they ended up with God in the ring with them. And you don’t want to be in a ring with a consuming fire.

Paul would later remind the Corinthians of this when he said, “Do not grumble, as some of them did — and were destroyed by the destroyer.” (1 Corinthians 10:10). Their complaints weren’t harmless words. They were declarations of unbelief — loud enough to silence gratitude and drown out faith.

So here’s a fact, gratitude keeps God in your corner, but ingratitude puts God in the ring against you.

But when you’re grateful, you posture your heart to remember who He is — not just what He’s done. You’re saying, God, if You never do another thing, You’ve already done enough. That’s Dayenu. But ingratitude says the opposite.

It whispers, “God, what You’ve done before doesn’t matter right now.”

It forgets His nature in the face of today’s need. It questions His goodness, not because the situation is too big, but because the memory of His faithfulness has grown too small. Ingratitude blinds the heart to past mercies and deafens the soul to future hope. It looks at today’s obstacle and sees it apart from yesterday’s deliverance.

When gratitude reminds you of who God is, ingratitude forgets who He’s always been. It trades confidence for complaint, and worship for worry. And often, it’s not the size of the problem that defeats us — it’s the loss of remembrance that weakens us.

So ingratitude is not merely discontent. It’s disbelief.

It says, My present challenge is greater than what You’ve already done for me.

But in truth, nothing you face today is greater than the God who delivered you yesterday. So ingratitude is forgetting who God is in the face of today’s challenges.

Gratitude, on the other hand, gives you courage for tomorrow. That’s what David showed when he stood before Goliath. His confidence didn’t come from the stones in his hand but from the memories in his heart. He remembered the lion. He remembered the bear. Each past victory became fuel for the present battle.

That’s the power of gratitude — it turns memory into momentum.

When you practice Dayenu, you’re not ignoring your struggles. You’re simply refusing to let them erase your history with God. You’re saying, God, You’ve been faithful before, and that’s enough proof that You’ll be faithful again.

The truth is, every believer faces seasons where life feels like a wilderness — dry, uncertain, full of delay. And in those moments, your greatest weapon isn’t a new miracle; it’s a grateful heart. Gratitude reminds you that you’re not empty-handed. You have evidence — testimonies, answered prayers, quiet provisions, unseen mercies — all pointing to a faithful God.

The Israelites forgot that. They forgot who parted the sea, who fed them, who sheltered them. They traded gratitude for grumbling, and in doing so, they turned the presence that protected them into a presence that disciplined them.

So when life presses hard, don’t say, God, You haven’t done enough. Say, Dayenu — it would have been enough.

Because it really would have.

• If He saved you and never did another thing, Dayenu.
• If He forgave your sins and left you with that alone, Dayenu.
• If He brought you through that last storm, Dayenu.
• If He gave you peace when you didn’t deserve it, Dayenu.
• If all He ever gave you was His presence — Dayenu.
• If all He ever spoke was one word of comfort in your pain — Dayenu.

Gratitude keeps you grounded in grace. It tells your heart that what God has already done is more than sufficient reason to trust Him for what He’s yet to do.

So the next time you face a Red Sea moment — when fear rises, when the future looks uncertain — remember the song of Dayenu. Remember that every miracle behind you is a promise ahead of you.

Don’t let your complaints cancel your confidence.

Let your gratitude speak instead — “Lord, even if You never do another thing for me — Dayenu! (It would have been enough)”.

Check out more works by Caleb Eleojo: The Things Fasting Won’t Do and The Woman Question