Finding Strength in Struggles: King David’s Lessons on Faith and Resilience

David Hamelech (King David) experienced every type of crisis in the world, and testifies about himself in Tehillim (42:8): “All Your waves and breakers have passed over me.”

For this reason, whenever a Jew faces suffering, he recites Tehillim, because David infused into them every possible request a person could ever need. He was able to do so because he himself had gone through all of life’s hardships.

When I was younger, I thought to myself: “The struggles I face are punishments to atone for my sins. Once they pass, I will return to a normal routine.”

I would look at the great rabbis and Torah scholars of the generation, who devoted themselves day and night to Torah study. They seemed to live with such genuine faith in God, their faces shining with joy. I would say in my heart: “How fortunate they are, that they don’t go through struggles like I do. Their lives seem to flow smoothly.”

And so it seemed too in the stories of tzaddikim (righteous people) I read in my youth. It appeared as if they were born, already from their mother’s womb, with an intense desire to serve God in prayer, Torah study, and acts of kindness. One rabbi was said to have known the entire Talmud by heart at the age of twelve! Meanwhile, I sometimes felt that I had no desire even to pray or to study properly.

I comforted myself by thinking: “Clearly, I will never become anything special. Those righteous people had perfect humility, and I am still so far from that. In all my flaws and bad traits, how can I compare to them?”

Years later, I came across a story about one of the great rabbis of the previous generation, a genius and saintly man, who admitted that there were mornings he woke up and felt no desire to open the Talmud. That story gave me tremendous strength.

“If even he had days like mine — days without desire to serve God, then it must be normal,” I told myself. “If he endured such struggles and overcame them, then with God’s help, I can also overcome mine.”

The Power of Struggles

Struggles and hardships are among the greatest tools for spiritual growth. As Shlomo Hamelech (King Solomon) wisely said (Mishlei 24:16): “For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again.”

The simple meaning is that even a righteous person may stumble seven times, but ultimately, he gets up again.

I once heard another interpretation that gave me immense strength: “In order to become a righteous person, you must first fall seven times — and rise.”

We cannot prove our loyalty to God when everything is easy. If every day God smiled on us — giving us perfect health, obedient children, a wonderful spouse, and financial abundance, of course we would say, “Blessed be His name!” What happens when the money stops flowing, when health falters, when children don’t listen? Will we still bless Him then? That is the real test of faith.

In times of struggle and difficulty, God observes us carefully. If we lift our eyes upward and accept His decree with humility, that is the true proof of our pure faith. Even if we waver for a moment, the struggle itself becomes the cause for God to multiply our reward — both in this world and the next.