How to Deal with Difficulties

Living Emunah By Rabbi David Ashear

Living Emunah 2620 How to Deal with Difficulties If a person is given a very difficult situation to deal with, having emunah does not mean that the person just says, "There's nothing to worry about. I know Hashem is with me. Everything will be fine." It is true that Hashem could take the person out of the difficulty in the blink of an eye, but it doesn't just happen with a positive attitude. A difficulty is something serious that needs to be dealt with in the proper way. The pasuk says, when we go out to war and see an army greater than us advancing towards us, לא תירא מהם . We are not to fear them because we have Hashem with us. Rabbi Menashe Reizman pointed out, it doesn't say have no fear at all. It says don't be afraid of them . The army has no control, but Hashem does. From Him we must have fear. Someone in a difficult situation who has bitachon will increase his fear of Hashem. He will say, "I know Hashem can save me. And I also know Hashem wants something from me." The difficulty is a calling to get closer to Hashem, to improve spiritually, to pray harder. But to just say everything's fine and continue living life as is, is not emunah or bitachon . Bitachon requires work, to understand who Hashem is and what His capabilities are, to fully believe in His ability to help. Yes, He loves us and wants to help us, but first we have to do something to activate that Heavenly help. Hashem can help us in many ways, in ways in which we could never imagine. A man told me he was in great need of money, and he exhausted all the natural possibilities of obtaining it. He put all of his energy into heartfelt tefila , getting closer to Hashem. Amazingly, he received a check in the mail from his mortgage company from something which took place seven years ago. The mortgage company said they decided to reopen a case and they ruled in his favor, sending him the unexpected check just when he needed it the most. The man had a problem. He worked hard on his tefila, and then Hashem helped him. Another man told me he had a large order that arrived at the port, and his customer's clearance agent told him that he was informed by the FDA that the item he ordered was considered a medical device and would not pass inspection without a registered medical device number. The supplier did not have this number, and there was no other way for him to get it. The supplier wouldn't take the merchandise back either, which left this man with a big problem. He made all the hishtadlut he could make to get that number but was unsuccessful. This meant that the goods were just going to have to be destroyed, leaving him with a very big loss. He decided he was going to go to the only One who was really in charge. He worked on his emunah to believe that Hashem orchestrated this entire process for his good, to the point where he was thanking Hashem for the position he was in. Amazingly, the next day, the FDA released the goods without the number they were requesting. When someone is given an issue, it's usually a calling to get closer to Hashem. If the person works on improving himself and his bitachon in Hashem, then he is responding with emunah.