What Are the Benefits of Trusting in God? Part 1

As explained in Chovot HaLevavot (Duties of the Heart) in the introduction to the Gate of Trust, one who places his trust in his Creator is the wealthiest, most content, and happiest person alive. Fortunate is the one who merits to enter through the front gates into this wondrous palace — the Palace of Those Who Trust.

Peace of Mind

Imagine a servant who works for his master as a cook. His only responsibility is to prepare healthy, good food for his master. For everything else he has no concern — he doesn’t pay rent, electricity, property taxes, water, homeowners’ fees, or even health insurance.

The master says to his servant: “I will provide all your needs in this world. You focus on cooking for me.” Similarly, a soldier in the army does not worry about his lodging, food, or clothing; the general is responsible for those. The soldier’s job is to train and carry out the missions to which he is assigned.

So too, the Creator asks of us: “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you, but to fear Him?” (Devarim 10:12). That is all.

Our primary task in this world is to revere God and fulfill His commandments. That is our mission. For all else — our sustenance and needs, it is God’s responsibility to provide. Just as a master is obligated to sustain his servant, so when we serve the King of the Universe, who owns all, our hearts are filled with calm and serenity.

What about human effort? Are we not commanded to work for a livelihood, to go to the doctor for healing, to seek matches for our children, and so on? Shall we just sit idly by?

Rabbi Bahya ibn Pakuda in Chovot HaLevavot does not mean there is no need for effort; effort is necessary, but without anxiety. A person must make an attempt to earn a livelihood, but he should not worry in his heart: “What will happen if I don’t succeed?” He should rest assured, knowing that effort is simply the framework God decreed for us to operate within, and it neither increases nor decreases what God has already allotted.

In his book Kad HaKemach, Rabbi Bahya writes that one who trusts in God feels as if he has received an explicit promise from the Almighty that he will succeed in all his endeavors. This is the path to true tranquility.

Scripture spells this out clearly: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and the Lord shall be his trust” (Yirmiyahu 17:7). But one who trusts in man: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the Lord” (Yirmiyahu 17:5). Likewise: “Happy is the man who has made the Lord his trust, and has not turned to the arrogant or those who stray after falsehood” (Psalms 40:5).

After reading and repeating these verses, we learn that the wisest and truest course is to place all our trust in the Almighty alone.

Lacking Nothing

The person who trusts in God never lacks any good thing.

By contrast, the one who relies on his talents and strength places his future on shaky ground. King Solomon already testified (Kohelet 9:11): “I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise…”

We have all seen exceptionally gifted people, even geniuses, who nevertheless fell into poverty. We have seen mighty individuals whose strong bodies were defeated by a microscopic virus. We have seen shrewd politicians whose wisdom and status could not save them from disgrace and downfall. History records countless armies, powerful and vast, defeated by smaller, weaker forces, such as the small, outnumbered Hasmoneans who triumphed over the mighty Greek army, armed with weapons, cavalry, and millions of trained soldiers.

Of those who trust in God, it is written (Psalms 34:11): “The young lions suffer want and go hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” Even lions, mighty as they are, sometimes go hungry. But those who seek God — though weak in body, lack nothing, because they rely on Him alone.

It is a clear and unequivocal promise from the Almighty: If we truly seek Him, we will lack no good thing. Our sages placed this verse at the end of Birkat HaMazon (Grace after Meals), to teach us that sustenance flows abundantly, but only when we seek the Lord sincerely and trust Him with all our heart.