Gratitude is essential to the life of faith… We read in the Torah: “And you shall bless the LORD your God for the good” (Deut. 8:10). Whenever we derive benefit or enjoyment from something we are to bless (i.e., thank) God for his goodness. Indeed the Hebrew term for gratitude is hakarat tovah (הַכָּרַת טוֹבָה), a phrase that means “recognizing the good.” The heart looks through the eye, and therefore how we see is ultimately a spiritual decision: “If your eye is “single” (i.e., ἁπλοῦς, sincere, focused),” Yeshua said, “your whole body will be filled with light” (Matt. 6:22). When we see rightly, we are awakened to God’s Presence in the little things of life, those small miracles and “signs and wonders” that constantly surround us. The good eye of faith sees hundreds of reasons to bless God for the precious gift of life (1 Cor. 10:31).
“Give thanks to the LORD for He is good; his love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1); “give thanks to the LORD always” (Col. 3:17; Eph. 5:20; 1 Thess. 5:18)… Gratitude is foundational to our lives as followers of Yeshua. Indeed there are really only two prayers we ever offer to God, namely “Help, LORD!” and “Thank you, LORD.” Meister Eckhart once remarked that if the only prayer you said in your entire life was, “thank you,” that would suffice… Genuine prayer ultimately resolves to an expression of thanks. We are to “praise the Bridge that carries us over” into the Presence and Love of God, and that Bridge is Yeshua our Lord.
The “thank offering” mentioned in the Torah (i.e., zevach ha-todah: זֶבַח הַתּוֹדָד) is also mentioned in the New Testament. In the Book of Hebrews were are instructed to “continually offer up a sacrifice of thanks (זֶבַח תּוֹדָה) to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his Name” (Heb. 13:15). It is interesting to note that the Greek verb used to “offer up” (i.e., ἀναφέρω) is used to translate the Hebrew verb “to draw near” (karov) in Leviticus. In other words, the “offering up of thanks” for the sacrifice of Yeshua functions as “korban” and draws us near to God. Thanking God for personal deliverance constitutes “right sacrifices” (זִבְחֵי־צֶדֶק) as we draw near to God in the hope of His love (Psalm 4:5; Heb. 7:19).
Though it is important to guard our sincere convictions and to be passionate about what we believe, we must nevertheless be careful to walk in humility before the mystery of life… After all, much is inscrutable to us, much is beyond our understanding, and therefore, if we are honest, we should be reverent before the “sacred secrecy” of everything. Fanaticism and intolerance (whether secular or religious) is motivated by willful ignorance of the marvelous complexities that pervade existence. The fanatic invariably seeks to reduce life to a simple formula, recipe, and a generalization. The humble person, on the other hand, freely confesses that they “walk by faith, not by sight” — by hearing the Word of God and heeding what the Spirit of God is saying to the heart… For now we “see through a glass darkly,” which literally means “in an enigma” (ἐν αἰνίγματι). An enigma (or riddle) is an analogy given through some resemblance to the truth, though quite often the correspondences are puzzling and obscure. Hence, “seeing through a glass darkly” means perceiving obscurely or imperfectly, looking “through” something else instead of directly apprehending reality. We see only a reflection of reality, and our knowledge in this life is indirect and imperfect. This is contrasted with the “face to face” (פָּנִים אֶל־פָּנִים) vision and clarity given in the world to come, when our knowledge will be clear and distinct, and the truth of God will be fully manifest and no longer hidden. Being “face to face” with reality means being free of the riddles, the analogies, the semblances, etc., which at best adumbrate our way.. Such reflection should make us humble whenever we share our faith. “Now we know in part, but then shall we know in whole” (1 Cor. 13:12). Let therefore repeat that an honest theology must find a place for mystery, for “seeing through a glass darkly,” and for the apprehension of awe and wonder.
“No one ever told me that grief felt so much like fear” (C.S. Lewis). We naturally feel sorrow when we experience loss in our lives, though we may experience a sort of consternation, too, since the very ground beneath our feet may seem to fall away, us leaving us feeling alienated and terribly alone. Over time our grief can make us numb and disconnected. We draw inward, afraid that whatever we love will be taken from us… As someone once confided: “Each loss makes a little hole in you; after awhile, they all add up, and there’s just a gaping hole where your heart used to be.”
We are living in dark times, perilous days (2 Tim. 3:1-5; 2 Pet. 3:3). The world has become more and more lawless, corrupt, irrational, and violent. Many live in dread, sensing that days of difficulty are ahead. Indeed, with the advent of the “Covid” pandemic 18 months ago, it is evident that things are likely never to return to “normal” as the world economy and the global political situation are restructured… God has sent strong delusion “so that those who do not love the truth should believe a lie” (2 Thess. 2:10-11). These are truly unprecedented times, and the hour draws near, friends….
“We are in God and God whom we do not see is in us” (Julian of Norwich). This follows from the meaning of the Name of God itself which is Eternal Life. YHVH (יהוה) means that God was (i.e., hayah: היה), God is (i.e., hoveh: הוֶה), and God always will be (i.e., yihyeh: יהיה) the Source, the Heart, and the End of our lives. “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:36). We may think of the LORD as being “out there” someplace apart from us, but that is untrue, for he constantly upholds all things by the word of his power (Heb. 1:3) and by Him all things “consist” or “hold together” (Col. 1:17). His will is the gravity that directs all of reality. We may sometimes feel like God is distant from us, but understand that feeling to be an invitation to wake up, come alive, and to live before his Presence. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for Him….
“Be still and know that I am God…” (Psalm 46:10). This is something you must do; you must quiet your heart to know the Divine Presence. Therefore “set the Lord always before you” (Psalm 16:8) and refuse anxious thoughts that weigh in upon you, creating pressure and “dis-ease.” Quieting your heart allows you to hear the holy whisper: “It is I; do not be afraid…” Once the storm of fear dissipates, you can access the truth of God. As the Spirit says, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength” (Isa. 30:15).
Recall that after Jacob had received the (
In our Torah portion for this week, 
All of us have unhealed parts, “hidden faults” (נסתרות) of which we are not fully aware. “Blind spots.” Therefore king David prayed, “Who can discern his errors? cleanse me from secret faults” (Psalm 19:12). We are cleansed by confession, that is, by looking within our hearts to uncover deeper motivations… If we are honest with ourselves we may discover, for example, that we are angry or fearful people, despite how we otherwise wish to regard ourselves. If you find yourself unable to let something go, for instance, some pain or failure of the past, remind yourself that you must do so if you want to move on with your life. Focusing on how things could have been different is to be enslaved to the past. The goal of teshuvah (repentance) is to turn us back to God for life, but to do this, we must be be willing to let go of what makes us sick.