BS’D
Today’s daily dose of emuna is dedicated to the refuah shleimah of Chaya Rachel bat Esther Feige. May Hashem send clarity to the doctors to properly diagnose her symptoms and may she be completely healed among all of Klal Yisrael who are sick and suffering b’karov, b’rachamim, Amen.
There are negative sides to fear; most of us are painfully aware. Still, it is worthwhile to review them.
One such down side is that fear encourages more fear by developing an automatic mechanism that spills over to other areas of our lives. Fear of dying may cause a person to stop traveling. Fear of becoming sick may bring a person to such paranoia that he will be hesitant to touch a door knob thinking that the germs will cause him to become ill.
All fear is based on weakened emuna. Living with the clear knowledge that it is only Hashem’s will that will be carried out puts a person back in touch with truthful reality. Yet it is not enough to stop there. The next thought after internalizing that it is all from Hashem should be that it is somehow, someway for the best. This is the ideal manner in which we can use the gift of free will to uplift our fears and put Hashem into the picture of our lives.
Undoubtedly, fear distances us from Hashem by convincing us that we are alone and that Hashem has chas v’Shalom abandoned us. The effect of such thinking builds barriers and disables us from seeing and accepting Hashem’s promise that He will never abandon the Jewish people. Indeed Hashem will never forsake us but this can still be hidden from us if we are tightly enclosed in fearful thoughts.
Hashem’s presence shines brightly but is unseen. The way to access it is through freeing ourselves from the illusion of happenstance. Concentrating on the thought that Hashem is always with us and controlling everything is the antidote for fear.
