Research indicates that there is an inverse relationship between trust in God and stress. This means that people who increase their trust in God will also decrease their stress levels. (For more information on studies correlating trust in God and anxiety, click here).
What Causes Stress
Stress is your body’s reaction to perceived threat. In other words, there is an overwhelming challenge and you feel you have little or no control over the situation. The result is stress, worry, and anxiety.
Aside from being unpleasant, stress is also detrimental to your physical and psychological well-being. Stress can lead to disease and depression.
The Cause and Effect Illusion
The world appears to operate on a system of cause and effect:
- I made a lot of money because I worked hard, had a brilliant idea, or learned great marketing strategies.
- I am not sick because I exercise and eat healthy foods.
- I got a great job because I am smart, I studied hard, or I made the right connections.
The cause and effect illusion leads us to believe that we are in charge of our destiny. We are in for a rude awakening when we discover that we do not have as much control as we thought we had.
Money may be lost, health may deteriorate, and jobs may be terminated even despite our best efforts. We are not in control.
Who’s in The Driver’s Seat?
Trusting in Hashem requires a shift in attitude. My fate is not determined by chance, nor is it in my control. Everything that happens to me, good or bad, is orchestrated by Hashem. While my efforts can affect the outcome (yep, I still have to do my best), ultimately, it is God who calls the shots.
When I recognize that Hashem is driving my life, there is no room for stress or worry. I know that He will only do what is best for me, so whatever happens will be good (even if it doesn’t seem that way). I trust in God and accept whatever He has in store for me.
Practical Bitachon
So next time your child misbehaves, your car won’t start, or dinner gets burnt, you can choose to feel stress, or you can choose to accept.
Practice saying “I accept Your will, Hashem” when things don’t go your way. After saying this a few times, you really will!
What other everyday situations do you think might be handled better with Bitachon?
I find bitachon is most important in my life when dealing with the "biggies" (death, serious illness, etc.)
ReplyDeleteIn everyday life, I find it's important for disappointments. Say I really wanted to do something outside today, but it's raining all day. Instead of focusing on the fact that my plans will have to change, I can try to focus on the positive in the situation and trust that there is a reason why Hashem decided rain was needed, such as to make the plants grow or to avoid any more wildfires. Plus, perhaps there is something important I need to do indoors today that I wouldn't have been able to do if I was outside.
Similarly, I'm a person who HATES being late. It stresses me and I see it as being rude to whoever I'm meeting. I do my best not to be late, but when it happens, I try to keep in mind that there could be a very good reason I need to be late for this. Maybe being late, I will avoid a car accident or be somewhere at the right time to help someone else. Maybe that conversation in the car that I get to have with my kids because we're stuck in traffic will be one of those important ones.
To me, a big part of bitachon is being humble enough to accept that I can't know all the reasons Hashem has for what happens and that I need to simply trust that those reasons are for the best.
Your last paragraph says it all:) Thank you for sharing, very insightful post!
DeleteSometimes it is actually easier to have Bitachon in major life crises than the smaller issue. This is partially because we recognize them for what they are: tests or challenges. If we can harness the same strength for the daily things - like getting rained in or coming late, we can really reduce the amount of stress we experience!
DeleteAnd you are right, we often will not find out in this world how and why a difficulty was good for us!
Definitely the "small stuff", like spilled anything on the carpet. Also, cases of the "should haves".
ReplyDelete