A HALLELUJAH LIFE

“Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord! Praise him in his Temple and in the heavens he made with mighty power. Praise him for his mighty works. Praise his unequaled greatness. Praise him with the trumpet and with lute and harp. Praise him with the drums and dancing. Praise him with stringed instruments and horns. Praise him with the cymbals, yes, loud clanging cymbals. Let everything alive give praises to the Lord! You praise him! Hallelujah!” –  Psalm 150 (TLB).

Do you remember the first time that you heard Handel’s Messiah and more specifically the Hallelujah Chorus? Hearing the choir of voices and the musicians all working together to create something larger than any single instrument. Then just before the  “Hallelujah Chorus” begins there’s a pause. The violins start. And the great chorus erupts. Everyone rises to their feet to not only celebrate this glorious, rollicking, transcendent music but to stand in honor of the One who was being praised. As moving as that chorus is, it will pale to what we will experience in Heaven. Eternity will be filled with hallelujahs. Handel’s Messiah reaffirms what we sometimes forget: We’re part of something bigger and more important than any single one of us.

In the Old Testament, the word hallelujah is used multiple times in the book of Psalms. If you look at the final psalm, Psalm 150, the word hallelujah bookends the whole psalm, appearing as it does right at the beginning and right at the end. “Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord! …You praise him! Hallelujah!” (TLB)

The question is are we living a hallelujah life now? To utter the word “hallelujah” is to give praise to God. It is an expression of worship. When we speak the word “hallelujah,” we are making a declaration right in the middle of wherever we are. Whether it be in a church building, in your home, car, or workplace, you can declare “hallelujah!” over your heart and over your circumstances.

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name” — Hebrews 13:15 (NIV). Whenever you choose to praise God, you are saying “My God is good; my God is great; my God is worthy,” that’s what “hallelujah!” is all about. You are declaring that your God is bigger than any circumstance you face, and His presence is all around. Our God is not confined to walls, nor is He limited by our human limitations.

God deserves our praise. God is the most glorified in us when we are the most satisfied in Him; we’re most satisfied in Him when we are engaged in praise and worship. Your life is a hallelujah chorus, written for the devotion to Jesus and Jesus alone.

“The note of hallelujah must never be in short supply in the spirit of the believer.”- Watchman Nee

Discussion Questions:

1. How big is God? How powerful is God? How loving is God? In your life, how do you praise God for who He is?   
2. Because of what God has done in our lives, how should we respond?