Dayenu - It Would Have Been Enough

Dayenu. It would have been enough. That's the song. Fifteen stanzas. Fifteen acts of God. And after each one, the same word. Dayenu. It would have been enough.

If he had brought us out of Egypt but had not divided the sea, it would have been enough. If he had divided the sea but had not led us through on dry ground, it would have been enough. If he had led us through but had not sustained us in the wilderness, it would have been enough.

But here's the thing. Would it have been enough? Really? If God rescued you from the worst thing in your life but didn't give you what came next, would you have said "that's enough, thank you"? Or would you have complained? Like the Israelites did. Three days after the Red Sea, complaining about the water.

We do that. I do that. God does something incredible and within a week I'm focused on what he hasn't done yet. The promotion came but the raise didn't. The relationship healed but not fast enough. The prayer was answered but not the way I wanted.

Dayenu is a discipline. Not a feeling. It's training your mouth to say "enough" when your heart is screaming "more." So let me try it tonight. Right now. My own dayenu.

If you had given me breath this morning but nothing else, it would have been enough. If you had given me one person who loves me but not the career I wanted, it would have been enough. If you had forgiven me but the consequences still remained, dayenu. It would have been enough.

If you had answered one prayer this year but left ten unanswered, dayenu. That's the hard one.

Because dayenu isn't about settling. It's about seeing. Really seeing what's already there. The Israelites sang dayenu standing in the middle of miracles they'd already started to take for granted. Sound familiar?

God, help me see what I already have. Before I ask for more, let me be staggered by what you've already done. The sea you already split. The bread you already provided. The freedom you already bought. Dayenu. It is enough. You are enough. Tonight, this table, these faces, this bread, this story. Enough.