The Connection Corner
A daily source of encouragement and inspiration to connect your heart to hope and faith.
Daily Devotional
Running Low, But Not Running OutOctober 26, 2026 - 7:00 am
Tree Climber TheologyOctober 25, 2026 - 7:00 am
Ten Dollars Well SpentOctober 24, 2026 - 12:30 pm
Crossroads of HopeOctober 23, 2026 - 7:00 am
The Story You’ll Never HearOctober 22, 2026 - 7:00 am
Hope at Register ThreeOctober 21, 2026 - 7:00 am
More Than a Nice ThoughtOctober 20, 2026 - 7:00 am
The Hundred-Dollar HandshakeOctober 19, 2026 - 7:00 am
Before the Answer CameOctober 18, 2026 - 7:00 am
The Weight of What-IfOctober 17, 2026 - 7:00 am
HEART OF THE ARTIST
Because Somebody PrayedSeptember 27, 2026 - 7:00 am
The Secret to Being BlessedSeptember 6, 2026 - 7:00 am
The Hardest HallelujahAugust 30, 2026 - 7:00 am
Meet Me in the ValleyAugust 9, 2026 - 7:00 am
Holding on Through HeartbreakJuly 5, 2026 - 7:00 am
STORIES ABOUT SONGS
Stuck Is Not Your StorySeptember 20, 2026 - 9:30 am
Come As You AreSeptember 13, 2026 - 7:00 am- The Hardest HallelujahAugust 30, 2026 - 7:00 am
The Fight Nobody SeesAugust 23, 2026 - 7:00 am
One Way Through the ChaosJuly 26, 2026 - 7:00 am
Stories About Songs
- Stuck Is Not Your StorySeptember 20, 2026 - 9:30 am
- Come As You AreSeptember 13, 2026 - 7:00 am
- The Hardest HallelujahAugust 30, 2026 - 7:00 am
- The Fight Nobody SeesAugust 23, 2026 - 7:00 am
- One Way Through the ChaosJuly 26, 2026 - 7:00 am
The Hardest Hallelujah
Daily Devotional, Heart of the Artist, Stories About SongsThere are moments when I look back and realize God was writing a deeper story than the one I thought I was living.
Several years ago, I sat down with some friends to write a song called “Let It Be a Hallelujah.” At the time, it felt like we were simply putting words to a conviction: praise isn’t reserved for the mountaintops. Praise belongs in every season.
In joy, “Hallelujah.”
In fear, “Hallelujah.”
In abundance, “Hallelujah.”
And even in suffering, “Hallelujah.”
But while we were writing the song, we received devastating news. My co-writer and dear friend, Busby, had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor.
Suddenly, the song wasn’t theoretical anymore.
Would I still sing hallelujah when grief walked into the room? Would I still praise God when my understanding ran out?
The answer became much more personal: All my life.
Not just the chapters I enjoy. Not just when prayers are answered the way I want. All my life.
Real praise in that moment wasn’t pretending everything was okay. It was choosing to lift my eyes toward God while my heart was breaking.
That’s what I’ve come to believe: whatever we walk through can become an opportunity to redirect our hearts and our glory back to God.
Years later, this song is still a heart check for me. Every time I step onto a stage, I have to ask myself, Why am I here?
Am I here to receive the hallelujah? To have people leave talking about my talent or my performance?
Or am I here to point to Him?
Psalm 146 reminds us, “I will praise the Lord as long as I live.” Every breath is another opportunity to give God our hallelujah.
Maybe today, your hallelujah is simply five seconds of gratitude. Maybe it’s thanking God for His faithfulness when you don’t know what comes next.
Whatever season you’re in, lift your eyes toward Him.
Because even in the hard, He is still good.
— Lauren Daigle
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
L Y R I C S
Take my life and let it be
My soul devoted Lord to Thee
Take my moments and all my days
Make them endless praise
Take my heart and let it move
In spirit and in truth
For the glory of Your name
With every breath that’s in me
With every song and melody
Let it be a hallelujah
In every breaking moment
In every blessing that You give
Let it be a hallelujah
Oh Lord, let it be a hallelujah
All my hopes and all my fears
Every trial, every tear
In the chaos, You remain
Faithful all the way
Through the victories
Through the scars
Let me echo who You are
For the glory of Your name
With every breath that’s in me
With every song and melody
Let it be a hallelujah
In every breaking moment
In every blessing that You give
Let it be a hallelujah
Oh Lord, let it be a hallelujah
Oh, let it be a hallelujah
Let it be a hallelujah
Nothing, but a hallelujah to you, God
Oh, let it be a hallelujah
All my life a hallelujah
Let it be a hallelujah to You, God
What If They’re Wrong About You?
Daily Devotional, Tammi ArenderLately, I’ve been thinking about how easy it is to let other people’s opinions define you.
Over the years, I’ve been called a flake because I’ve moved around so much. I’ve been told I talk too much and too loud. I’ve even been told I’m not a very good friend because I spend so much time focused on work, exercise, and getting enough sleep.
And sometimes criticism can help us grow. But sometimes, we start carrying labels God never intended for us to wear.
Somewhere along the way, I realized I’d been letting other people’s opinions speak louder than the voice of God.
God doesn’t call me a flake. He calls me His child.
And I didn’t earn that name. He chose to welcome me into His family.
He doesn’t define me by my mistakes, my weaknesses, or someone else’s opinion of me. He calls me His.
The loudest voice in your life will eventually become the truest one in your heart.
So the older I get, the more I realize I need to spend less time listening to what people say about me and more time listening to what God says about me. People see a snapshot. God sees the whole story.
Your identity doesn’t begin with what people say about you.
It begins with what the Father declares.
So when another label tries to stick, I’m learning to ask one simple question: Did that name come from people—or from the Father who calls me His child?
Maybe that’s a question you need to ask today, too.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
The Pain That Grew You
Brendan McClain, Daily DevotionalHindsight really is twenty-twenty.
It’s funny how we sometimes laugh about things we once cried over. Moments that felt overwhelming, personal, and devastating can eventually become stories we tell around the dinner table.
One of my earliest memories is throwing a full-blown tantrum over a hot dog. I wanted to squeeze the mustard on it myself, but my mom beat me to it. I was furious. Kicking, flailing, acting like the world had ended.
Little Brendan felt like his soul had been assassinated.
Big Brendan doesn’t even keep mustard in his fridge.
A lot of our problems are like that. Time gives us perspective, and what once felt enormous can eventually look surprisingly small.
But not every problem is a hot dog.
Some wounds alter the course of your life. Some losses take years to heal. Some pain runs so deep that nobody wants to bring it up around the dinner table.
And in those seasons, we can misunderstand the hand of our Father.
Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” He tells us that the gardener prunes the branches so they can bear more fruit.
Pruning isn’t always easy to understand while it’s happening. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes we can’t see what God is doing—or why He’s allowing us to walk through something so painful.
But we can trust the Gardener.
God isn’t trying to destroy you. He is faithful to work in you, even in the places that hurt. He can take what feels broken and use it to grow something beautiful. He doesn’t waste our pain. He can redeem it, repurpose it, and use it to draw us closer to Him.
Maybe someday you’ll look back and see things differently. Not because the pain didn’t matter, but because God met you in it—and changed how you carried it.
The same God who is with you in the pruning is the God who will bring forth new growth.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT