How to Overcome Fear by Redirecting It to God: A Spiritual Approach

The revered Chofetz Chaim once commented on the famous Talmudic phrase describing the generation before the coming of the Messiah: "The face of the generation is like the face of a dog."

What does this puzzling metaphor mean? The Chafetz Chaim explained, when you throw a stick or stone at a dog, it instinctively attacks the object itself with anger and aggression, but it never stops to consider who threw it. Its vision is short; it focuses only on the immediate pain and not on its deeper source.

So too, in our generation, we suffer from a terrible spiritual blindness, a generation of divine concealment (hester panim). In that state, people tend to attribute their suffering and fears to “chance,” “nature,” or random causes, unable to see the hand behind it all.

"The Burden of Troubling Thoughts"

This idea directly relates to what we experience as mental and emotional suffering — constant worry, anxiety, and distress. All of these stem from shortsightedness, a lack of simple contemplation and clarity.

Ask yourself: Whom should I really fear, if not the One who declares, “I put to death and I bring to life; I strike and I heal; no one can rescue from My hand” (Deuteronomy 32:39)? It’s all “I,” says God. He is the true source of both pain and healing.

Before fearing illness, loss, or anything else, go straight to the root of fear — fear of God, the source of everything. Don’t waste your inner capacity for fear on outer causes. Redirect that fear back to its Source, to the One who ultimately controls both the blow and the pain. Fear Him, not His creations.

The Baal Shem Tov's Perspective: Longing for the Source

The Baal Shem Tov teaches: When a person suddenly sees a beautiful woman and feels his desire stirred, he should stop and reflect: Where does this beauty come from? The answer is from God alone. It is a spark of holiness wrapped in physical form. Without that divine spark, the body would be nothing more than a lifeless shell.

Instead of desiring the outer form, yearn for the Source - the holiness that animates all beauty and creation.

The same is true with fear. Before becoming paralyzed by fear of worldly events or external circumstances, turn your attention to the Source that sustains and animates all reality: God Himself.

A Powerful Tool for Overcoming Fear

The holy books teach: When a person strengthens their fear specifically in fear of God, and their only real worry is the possibility of transgressing His commandments, then they fulfill King David’s words: “For I confess my transgressions; I worry about my sin” (Psalms 38:19).

This spiritual focus is a powerful remedy to transform all worldly fears, and to renew yourself entirely, in body, mind, and soul.

An Astonishing Teaching from the Baal Shem Tov (Midrash Pinchas 157): "I heard in the name of the Baal Shem Tov that when a person, God forbid, experiences great suffering or distress, there is only one solution — to trust completely in the Supreme Kindness, unshakably. Then he should do nothing else — no remedies, no prayers, no rituals — just trust. Even without praying or going to the mikveh or doing anything at all — only trust."

This level of pure bitachon — trust without action — is the highest form of surrender. It is the place where fear dissolves into faith and worry transforms into serenity.

Dont allow fear to remain scattered across illnesses, events, and circumstances. Lift it back to its root, to awe of God. Recognize that every blow, every test, every worry is in His hands. When fear returns to its source, so does healing, clarity, and peace.