How to Develop Trust in G-d: The Path to Inner Peace and Spiritual Strength

An individual who lacks trust in G-d does not truly live. Even if he is currently wealthy, healthy, and seemingly well-off, he never knows what tomorrow may bring, and deep within his heart there lingers a constant fear that disaster might strike. 

A person who attains the trait of bitachon (trust in G-d) however, not only lives in alignment with truth, but also lives a life of calm and joy. After fulfilling the reasonable level of effort required of him, he knows there is someone watching over him, guiding the outcomes of his efforts toward what is truly best for him. After all, the One overseeing everything is unlimited in His ability, sees the future, and possesses wisdom far beyond human comprehension- He alone knows what is truly good for a person in both the present and the long term. As a result, one who trusts in G-d lives in peace. In the book Chovot HaLevavot we are told: “The essence of trust is the tranquility of the one who trusts- that his heart rests upon the One he trusts, believing that He will do what is best and most fitting for him.”

A person cannot truly acquire the trait of trust unless his faith in G-d is whole. Trust is like the second story of a building, built upon the foundation of belief in G-d's existence. Only one who knows and accepts that there is a Creator, can truly trust Him and live with peace of mind.

Indeed, every person is required to make a reasonable effort to achieve his goals- this is part of the curse placed upon humanity after the sin of Adam. As it is written: “By the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread.” This includes all human needs, which generally cannot be obtained without effort. Before Adam’s sin, however, all of man’s needs came to him effortlessly and the earth provided loaves of bread without any labor. After the sin, the earth was cursed to produce only thorns and thistles without human toil. Bread and all forms of sustenance would come only through hard work, as the verse says: “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree I commanded you not to eat, cursed is the ground because of you; with hardship you shall eat from it all the days of your life. And thorns and thistles it shall produce for you.”

How much effort must one make to earn a living? Just enough to secure a reasonable income. That is, if after reasonable efforts he finds all doors closed and cannot support himself as he had hoped, he should know that his current situation is for his own good. He should not fall into sadness or despair but should trust that G-d is surely doing what is best for him, and from time to time, continue to make reasonable efforts to improve his situation. Perhaps the financial strain is a temporary decree for his benefit to atone for sins or to awaken him to some area of growth, and once that purpose is fulfilled, a new effort may lift him to a better place.

If a person has worldwide business opportunities, and he is talented enough to earn great wealth, or if he can take on multiple jobs and earn far more than he need, he must strengthen his bitachon and limit his work to what is necessary for a reasonable living. The remainder of his time should be devoted to building his spiritual world for Torah study, focused prayer, attentive listening and help for his spouse, educating his children, fulfilling mitzvot in the best way possible, and acts of kindness for others. He should trust that if it was decreed for him to become wealthy, G-d has many ways to make it happen without excessive effort beyond the necessary effort required by “by the sweat of your brow.”

The Chovot HaLevavot explains: “The proper way to trust in G-d regarding livelihood is to engage in what G-d has provided for his sustenance and livelihood- just enough to obtain what he needs. And if G-d decrees an increase, it will come to him without toil or great effort.” Later, he adds that one must internalize that if G-d has not decreed wealth for him, “even if all the heavens and earth would try to increase it, they could not- by no means and no cause.”

This principle applies to all areas of life that require bitachon: do your reasonable part, and trust G-d to take care of the outcome.

In fact, when a person overexerts himself in his efforts by working obsessively to get what he wants, he not only fails to help himself but actually harms himself. As the Chovot HaLevavot says: “One who does not trust in G-d ends up placing his trust in others. And one who puts his trust in something other than G-d, He removes His providence from him and leaves him in the hands of whatever he trusted in.”

Indeed, the Midrash comments on the verse “And a word spoken leads only to loss”: Joseph was only meant to spend ten years in prison, as punishment for the negative report he gave about his ten brothers. However, because he said to the butler, “Remember me and mention me to Pharaoh”, he remained there for an extra two years, as it says, “And it came to pass at the end of two full years”. Some explain that due to Joseph’s high spiritual level, he should not have relied on any human effort at all to free himself. Even according to the simpler reading, the criticism of Joseph was for excessive effort. After asking once, “Remember me,” he should not have repeated, “and mention me.” That repetition revealed that even the first request was not purely proper effort, but a lack of perfect trust for someone on his level.

So it is for each person: we must rise in our inner work and strengthen our trust in G-d according to our own level, striving toward the completeness we are capable of.

We will end this profound topic with the closing words of Rabbenu Bachya at the end of Sha’ar HaBitachon in Chovot HaLevavot: “May G-d make us among those who trust in Him- who surrender to His judgment in what is revealed and what is hidden- by His mercy. Amen.”