Who among us has not experienced loss? While we cannot escape suffering in this life, God can give us heart to face the struggle… “You shall love the LORD thy God will all thy heart – particularly while you are in the midst of bewilderment, testing, and affliction. As the prophet Job exclaimed in the midst of his losses, “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the Name of the LORD be blessed.”
Hebrew Lesson:
We had nothing when we were born into this world, and all that we now have was given to us by hashgachah pratit (השׁגחה פרטית) – the providential plan of God for our lives. As the LORD graciously gave, so He has the prerogative to take away. Pain, suffering, and even death itself surely do not come by accident but are rather part of the inscrutable will of God, who works all things together for the good of creation. Gam zu l’tova – this too is “for the good,” even if the good is not revealed in the moment. Job refused to blame God for his troubles, but instead he understood that whatever God does (or allows) must itself good, and there is no reason to doubt this, even if in the present there is tribulation – indeed, even the throes of death. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). As it is written, lo yimna-tov laholekhim be’tamim (לא ימנע־טוב להֹלכים בתמים), “no good thing does he withhold from those who walk in completeness” (Psalm 84:11), and you are made complete (תמים) because of the finished work of Messiah on your behalf. Do not be afraid of His providence: no good thing will the LORD withhold from you.
When Paul wrote, “in everything give thanks” (1 Thess 5:18), surely he understood the prospect of real suffering. It is through “much tribulation” that we enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). We do not ask God to insulate us from all troubles, but rather to be given the courage to carry on despite the troubles. Hence one of our standard prayers in the tradition is: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה הַנּוֹתֵּן לַיָּעֵף כּחַ / barukh attah Adonai ha’noten lai’ya’ef koach: “Blessed are You, LORD, who gives power to the faint.”
We cannot escape suffering in this life, but God gives us heart to face the struggle. Each day contains the opportunity to serve God even in the midst of trouble (Matt. 6:34). We cannot control much of what happens to us in this life, so our task is to sanctify time and trust that God will see to our true needs. Taking refuge in God means personally trusting in His goodness for your soul, despite circumstances that might tempt you to lose heart.
Hebrew Blessing:
