The Final Day of 2024
Dear Torah Sisters:
Today, the final day of 2024, should be the launching point for our TESHUVA ~ Our self-examination of our walk with the Lord, before we step into 2025.
As I sipped coffee, and considered today and what I want from it, I knew the Lord was calling me to examine myself ~ TESHUVA!
I prayed, Lord, yes, this is the WAY!
May I self-examine with brutal honesty. May I take every assessment of myself CAPTIVE to the precious holiness of Jesus Christ! Oh dear Lord, now I am in deep water! Help me with this command you have given me.
It started like this, for me:
1) In my Hallakah: (My walk with HIM) Did I truly walk with the Lord, in the Spirit, step by step, uphill, downhill, in my home, out in public, at the Angel Garden where my beloved rests, and in my life of Torah with all of you? Have I been transparent, humble, self-disclosing, contrite, yet BOLD for the LORD? I call forth memories by His spirit in me, and I examine my presence and my passion for my ONE TRUE LOVE…YESHUA HAMASHIA!
2) In my Emunah: (By faith) Did I walk by FAITH in 2024? Did I invite the Ruach Ha Kodesh to define my steps, in faith, to enter new Territory for the Lord? Did I have more HOPE than DESPAIR, because of my faith in the promises of my God? Even in a difficult “climb up a mountain in life”, did I meditate on His power, His abilities, His character…and climb all the way to the top without forsaking the grand VISTA He has planned for me?
3) In my Binah: (Knowledge of Him) In this past year of grieving, healing, and a little hope…did my knowledge of the Lord increase because of my hunger for Him and His word? Did I FEAST on His WORD, like a starving Hebrew at the foot of Mt. Sinai…until the blessed Manna fell? How did my Manna fall...Daily? Abundantly? Gloriously?
4) In my chokmah:(Godly Wisdom) Was there EVIDENCE of a growing, Godly wisdom in my life? Did I make decisions with more faith because of my binah, knowledge of God’s ways, from my study of His word? Was I able to discern the world and others quickly, because of my assessment by His Spirit in me
? Was I bold enough to Stand Up, Speak Up, and Shake up the world around me because of the Truth of God IN me? Have I grown in this area of wisdom and discernment, to the point that I am MORE of a beautiful City on a Hill for my people?
5) In my Simchat: (My Joy!) Did I experience the “Joy of the Lord” in the midst of my trials? In my hard days, sad nights, fears of the future, especially surrounding the months leading to the election and demise of our beloved country, did I enter His court with PRAISE…and exit His court FULL of His GLORY? This is a CHOICE my dearest ones! Where will our eyes REST?On His glorious presence or on frightful situations we all must face in this mortal life?
6) In My Tefillah: (My prayer life) Was my prayer life ~ my most intimate communication beseeching the Lord like Manna for me? Did I seek His face like a starving Hebrew slave every morning? Did I FEEL the HUNGER and THIRST for Jesus every single morning I awoke and needed oxygen from heaven?
7) In My Yehuda: (Praise!) Throughout this year, my year of healing, was PRAISE always on my lips? To beg for mercy for my sons, to ask for protection at a greater level for my loving grandchildren, to beseech God for myself and the life He wants me to live now, did I enter into His Holy Place with boldness, worshipful thanksgiving, laced with PRAISE for WHO GOD IS IN MY LIFE?
As I prepare to run and pray, with TESHUVA, I wanted to share what the Ruach has given me to meditate on as I go, with humility and honesty and forthrightness as I report back to my God, with thanksgiving for any improvement in all these areas, and with repentance where I had OPPORTUNITY, and I wasted it!
“I ask you dearest Father, to speak to all of us as only your Spirit can, and give us spiritual eyes to see, spiritual recall to envision this past year of our Hallakah, and bring us into your Holy Place for forgiveness and mercy. Prepare us for this new year, which is an amazing gift from You for our lives and our country. Dearest Ruach Ha Kodesh, convict us, in all the ways only you can, to GROW US UP IN YOU, in 2025 (5785). Amen”
With love and hope for MORE of HIM!
Sydney
