Believe in Yourself: Unlocking the God-Given Potential Within

When seeking the strength to face our challenges, belief in oneself is crucial. As Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz taught: “Just as believing in someone else gives them strength through your trust in them, so too, believing in yourself implants within you unlimited abilities to accomplish things beyond normal human capacity.”

This idea appears in the Ramban’s commentary on the verse: “And every man whose heart inspired him, and everyone whose spirit made him willing brought the offering to God” — referring to the wise-hearted who built the Mishkan. The Ramban explains: “The meaning of ‘whose heart inspired him’ is that no one among them had learned these crafts from a teacher or master. Rather, they found within themselves a natural ability to do the work. Their hearts lifted them in the ways of God to come before Moshe and say, ‘I will do all that my master speaks.’”

When God commanded the Mishkan to be built exactly according to His specifications, it required great skill. Bezalel, Oholiav, and the other artisans were not trained craftsmen — they simply trusted that God had given them the talents needed. Their belief in themselves, anchored in faith in God, provided them with the strength to accomplish what seemed impossible.

The same applies to each of us: if we truly believe in our God-given abilities and qualities, we will unlock immense inner power. The opposite is also true, warns Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz: “…One who despairs of his abilities will slacken in his learning, while one who trusts in his abilities and believes he can grow greatly in Torah, fulfilling ‘his heart is lifted in the ways of God,’ will gain strength, persevere, and succeed.”

History shows that many who succeeded in life were not necessarily the most talented or intelligent, but those who believed in themselves. God gave us special abilities not to remain dormant but to be used for the good of the world, which can only happen if we recognize and value them.

If we don’t recognize our strengths, we can’t use them. Similar to owning the most advanced camera but never reading the manual — you’ll only use it at a basic level. Awareness of our strengths is what allows us to move forward. As Rabbi Dessler wrote: “A person’s tools for work are his strengths.”

If we ignore them, they go to waste. Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Jacobson shares a parable: A young camel asked his mother:

1. “Why do we have such long legs?”
   She replied: “To travel thousands of kilometers, our strong legs let us go far.”

2. “Why such long eyelashes?”
   She said: “They protect us from desert sandstorms.”

3. “Why this strange hump on our back?”
   “It stores fat, allowing us to go weeks without water.”

Finally, the baby camel asked: “If we have legs for long journeys, eyelashes for sand, and a hump for surviving without water… why are we sitting in a cage in the zoo?”

If we don’t know our purpose, we waste our potential. People who decide that they are failures will eventually fulfill their own prophecy, whereas those who believe in their God-given worth and potential, can rise beyond limits.