What does it mean to “Yadah”?
Yadah is a Hebrew verb meaning “to praise, thank, or confess.” It literally means to lift our hands in worship. It is used 116 times in the Bible and is a spontaneous expression of adoration and surrender.
When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement, with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks, saying, “He is good; His love endures forever.”
When we read 2 Chronicles 7:3, we see that the people fell face downward on the ground, worshiping Him for His eternal love that He endowed on the people of Israel. In verse 6 of this passage, we see that they use instruments to praise the Lord for His unfailing love. As the fire fell from heaven burning the sacrifices that they gave, they realized at that moment that God loved them and wanted to be in their presence as much as they wanted to be in His.
So, they gave thanks, Yadah!
The Lord is worthy of praise because His steadfast love endures through time. When the people were kneeling in His presence, His glory filled the temple, and God revealed His longing to be with them. What surrounds “Yadah” is His steadfast love, abounding and never ending.
Further on in the book of Nehemiah chapter 12, we see that the leaders were organized and put into position, and also the women and children were there participating in thanksgiving, and they were filled with joy in their gathering.
Psalms 50:2 and 23 tell us:
The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to where it sets. From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth…Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me, and to the blameless I will show my salvation.
Psalm 136 shares how His love endures forever, through the wilderness, as they escaped the Pharaoh who was swept away in the Red Sea. The Lord freed them from their enemies. He gives food to every living creature. And so, we give Him thanks, Yadah!
We give thanks to Him at all times, and everyday because of who He is. His love for us is everlasting. As we remember to thank Him, we realize how He wants dearly to spend time with us, as much if not more than we do with Him.
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
Psalm 84:5-7 explains to us that whenever we give thanks in the wilderness or desert, He makes those arid places of our lives into springs. We are strengthened by God as He draws us near, and our temporary battles cause us to grow and shine His glory as we continue our journey onward.
I’m an American woman who has been a missionary in Brazil for twenty-seven years.
There were times while I have been here that I saw God do extraordinary things, and my husband and I, as well as our Brazilian colleagues, received fountains of joy. There were also times of dryness, put together with many battles that we just had to press through by giving thanks and worshiping our creator. We remembered to lift up the name of Jesus, and we committed all of the work of our hands to the Lord for His glory. When we placed our eyes on Jesus, we could keep going forward.
I played the flute for many years, since I was a child. I had laid it down because I had other interests, but the Lord brought it back to me, and it was like welcoming an old friend into my life. In Brazil, playing flute is a gift that is appreciated, and I was invited to play in various worship bands. As a child, I relied stringently on sheet music, but playing in Brazil, I learned to flow and play by ear, something that came naturally to me, without effort.
Whenever I am in difficult situations or suffering any grief or loss, I play. I lift my eyes toward heaven, and I play for God’s ears only. I participate in a concert performed especially for Jesus. I “yadah.” The beautiful part of it all is that the others join in, and together we praise and give thanks for the one who is worthy. It is not because everything is going as it should, but we give thanks to Jesus in spite of the difficulties that we are facing.
Yadah” is giving thanks, and it is an essential part of our spiritual lives in Jesus Christ.
{If you enjoyed this blog post, you might also like this episode of The Love Offering Podcast, where Rachael chats with Jeremy A. Taylor about how gratitude can soften our attitudes, strengthen our relationships, and anchor us when life feels hurried or heavy. They explore how a thankful heart doesn’t ignore hard things—it finds God in them. You can listen to the episode here.}
About the Author:
Jill van Opstal-Popa has been a missionary for thirty-four years. She first served with YWAM Amsterdam, and then together with her Dutch husband, she worked in Brazil founding a children’s shelter called Lar Feliz or “Happy Home.” She has written two books, It’s a Wonderful World, and Finding a Happy Home, and she compiled an anthology called Love in Full Bloom with the publisher Ambassador International. She is an ordinary person who believes in an extraordinary God. She is originally from a small town in the Akron area of Ohio.
