“Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isa. 55:6-7). But how will we seek if we do not believe? And how will God be found unless God makes it possible for us to find Him? Hashivenu. We first believe the invitation to return is for us, and the moment we believe we draw near, which is to say God reveals himself to the heart of faith. If you feel devoid of God’s presence, heed David’s words to “set the LORD” before you (Psalm 16:8). Ask God for help to truly know Him and have confidence that he will indeed heal you. No prayer offered according to his heart will ever go unanswered (1 John 5:14-15). “The greatest honor we can give to the Almighty is to live gladly because of the knowledge of his love” (Julian Norwich). As Yeshua promised: “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him” (John 14:21). Note that the Greek word translated “manifest” means to “shine inside” (i.e., ἐμφανίζω, from ἐν, “in” and φαίνω, “shine”), indicating that the revelation would be inward light of the Presence of Messiah himself (Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν, ἡ ἐλπὶς τῆς δόξης, Col. 1:27). God calls you so that you might find him to be the greatest love of your life, and as you receive that love, as you embrace it as your own, the love of Messiah will become inwardly visible to you. This comes from a place of surrender and acceptance. As Paul Tillich said, “Sometimes in a moment of weakness light breaks into darkness, and it is as though a voice says, ‘You are accepted; you are accepted… Do not seek for anything; do not perform anything; do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted.’ If that happens to you, then you experience grace, and everything will be transformed.” Ultimately teshuvah is about salvation and transformation – beauty from ashes – and the love of God…
Today is the day of salvation, yet how many are the days of your life? How many opportunities for you to make up your mind? “How long will you go limping between two opinions?” Therefore choose this day whom you will serve. Salvation is as close as your own mouth and heart (Deut. 30:11-14; cp. Rom. 10:8-13). Make the first step; open your heart, and the LORD will then help you make the wholehearted decision to “seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.” Amen.
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