I have wondered about the issue of trust in God because the only time I actually saw an approach like that that was real to people was for the short time I was at the Mir in NY. It was a general approach there that if you sit and learn Torah, God will take care of everything else. And that was done in deeds, not words.
What helped me get the message was the book of Navardok [Madragat HaAdam] but even without that, this attitude was simply embedded at the Mir.
Maybe it was also in Shar Yashuv to some degree but I do not recall.
It also helped me understand the idea of doing some effort in order to make a vessel to receive the blessings from God, but that over exertion of effort is lack of trust.
The surprise for me was that as long as I stuck with that approach it worked. But when I abandoned it in order to "do effort",-- that is exactly when God stopped helping me.
So it is like the verses in Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Psalms and many other places say--God helps those that trust in him. Those that trust in their own efforts, He abandons.
[The main verses that I am thinking of are a few in Jeremiah] ברוך הגבר אשר יבטח בהשם והיה השם מבטחו..."Blessing is the man who trusts in God and makes God his trust. He will be like a tree planted on streams of flowing water... Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and places his trust in human efforts. He will be like a broken well that can not hold any water."
[Please look at the Musar [Ethics] books that deal with trust in God: Obligations of the Hearts, and Madragat HaAdam. You will see the issue of trust as opposed to effort is an argument among the rishonim.]
What helped me get the message was the book of Navardok [Madragat HaAdam] but even without that, this attitude was simply embedded at the Mir.
Maybe it was also in Shar Yashuv to some degree but I do not recall.
It also helped me understand the idea of doing some effort in order to make a vessel to receive the blessings from God, but that over exertion of effort is lack of trust.
The surprise for me was that as long as I stuck with that approach it worked. But when I abandoned it in order to "do effort",-- that is exactly when God stopped helping me.
So it is like the verses in Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Psalms and many other places say--God helps those that trust in him. Those that trust in their own efforts, He abandons.
[The main verses that I am thinking of are a few in Jeremiah] ברוך הגבר אשר יבטח בהשם והיה השם מבטחו..."Blessing is the man who trusts in God and makes God his trust. He will be like a tree planted on streams of flowing water... Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and places his trust in human efforts. He will be like a broken well that can not hold any water."
[Please look at the Musar [Ethics] books that deal with trust in God: Obligations of the Hearts, and Madragat HaAdam. You will see the issue of trust as opposed to effort is an argument among the rishonim.]
