Trust in God: Miraculous Stories of Faith, Provision, and Divine Blessing

David Hamelech (King David) says in Tehillim (55:23): “Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you.” On this, the Maharal explains that one who truly trusts in God will not suffer harm, even if he may not be deserving.

A Gold Watch

Rabbi Yisrael Salanter once spoke with his students about the power of bitachon (trust in God). One student asked: “Does the Rabbi mean that if someone trusts completely in God to give him a gold watch, then it will actually happen?” Rabbi Yisrael replied: “Yes.” The students then challenged him: “Rabbi, then you should trust in God for a gold watch.” Rabbi Yisrael thought quietly for a moment and then declared: “Yes, I place my trust in God that He will provide me with a gold watch.”

Shortly thereafter, a man knocked at the study hall door asking for the Rabbi. In his hand was a gold watch. “I am a soldier about to go to war,” he explained, “and I don’t want to take my watch with me, lest it fall into the hands of gentiles if something happens to me. I prefer to give it as a gift to the Rabbi.”

This striking story illustrates that when a person sincerely believes with all his heart that God will provide, he will indeed be answered — sometimes instantly and in miraculous ways.

God Provides

Similarly, the Talmud (Ketubot 67b) relates that a poor man once came to the sage Rava asking for food. Rava asked him: “What are you used to eating?” The man replied: “Fattened chicken and aged wine.” Rava scolded him: “Aren’t you worried about burdening the community with such expensive habits?” The poor man answered: “Am I eating from their money? I eat from God’s! As it says: ‘The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in due season’ (Tehillim 145:15). It doesn’t say ‘in their season,’ but ‘in his season’ — meaning that God provides to each person individually.”

As they spoke, Rava’s sister — who hadn’t seen him in thirteen years, arrived with a gift for her brother, of fattened chicken and aged wine. Rava admitted to the poor man: “You are correct. Arise and eat.”

One who has genuine trust in God will be sustained in abundance without toil. Working on this quality brings a double reward: God provides because He sees our faith in Him alone, and at the same time, the person gains inner peace, calm, and joy through the closeness to God that trust creates.

Trust is Like a Nail

Another famous story is told about the Holy Alshich, a prominent rabbi, preacher, and biblical commentator in the latter part of the sixteenth century. He once delivered a sermon about the power of bitachon. A simple man heard the Rabbi’s words and took them literally. Returning home, he sat idle without working. His wife scolded him: “Why are you sitting? Go earn a living!” He replied: “No. The Rabbi said that one who has true trust in God will be provided for without needing to labor. I trust in God that He will feed us.” Despite his wife’s protests, he refused to budge: “I trust!”

Days later, their money ran out, and they were forced to sell their horse and wagon to a non-Jew. The man loaded the wagon with sand to sell, but suddenly struck something hard. Investigating, he found a buried treasure. He heaved it onto the wagon, then climbed into the pit for more — but the ground collapsed on him, burying him alive. The horse, hungry, eventually wandered back to its former home. The couple heard its neighing, brought it into the stable, and discovered the wagon filled with treasure!

When word of the miracle spread, the Alshich’s students came in amazement: “Rabbi, we’ve been working on trust in God for years and haven’t reached such results, yet this man succeeded after just one sermon?” The Alshich explained: “Trust is like a nail. If you drive it into soft earth, it doesn’t hold. But if you strike it into solid ground, it grips firmly. You are like soft earth — believing, but still fearful: What if God doesn’t answer me? He, however, was like solid rock — he took the teaching with complete simplicity and truth, without doubt. That is why his trust was strong and God rewarded him generously.”