Shabbos Table

Life is an unpredictable journey with twists and turns that nobody can predict and plan for. One minute you could be soaring high, and the next you are down towards spiritual or emotional rock bottom. Yet despite this, the true test of love, faith, and trust happens when you don’t have everything figured out. It is during those times that it seems as though God is pushing us to limits that feel unbearable, but in reality, He is preparing us for our greatest moment. I believe God chooses people and prepares them through adversities.

God has been known to put his chosen people through tests, trials, and difficulties and even isolate them, but it’s not in vain. These tests are intended to lead us onto our path of doing good and can come in various ways, including emotional or spiritual tests or financial trials that can act as a wake-up call to a divine call of our purpose. We need to understand that these trials and adversities not only humble us but make us stronger, increase our resilience and develop our faith and trust in God.

Isolation is another challenge that God uses to mentally prepare us. When humans sense isolation, it is an automatic reflex. We become anxious or restless, an experience that makes many avoid being alone with their own thoughts. But when we understand that isolation is not a test but an opportunity, we develop a deeper connection with the divine. This is the moment when we learn to handle life’s challenges so that when we connect with others, we are imparting valuable life lessons that can help lead them to the divine destiny apart from anything else.

It is critical to validate the experiences, rewards, and gifts beyond the challenges that must come our way. Sometimes life’s adversities don’t seem to have any end. Isolation can feel like a never-ending ordeal that we will never recover from, but God only has our best interests at heart. He uses time to mold, shape, train, and perfect us just as He intends to use us powerfully, when we are ready.

God chooses people who face difficulty and rise above it – those that believe that God can give them the strength to overcome their challenges through faith and trust in themselves, knowing that they can get through, that they can overcome, and that they can survive. It is in this belief, coupled with acknowledging life’s adversities as valid and indeed necessary, that we move forward motivated, inspired and carried by the love and strength of God.

The adversities that we face are just trials that pave the way for God’s plan in our lives. It may hurt, and it may challenge us when it feels like nothing good is coming out of it, but the good news is that nothing happens in vain. God will be isolating us, putting us through trials, and testing us, but each of these experiences is preparing us for greatness. The important belief to hold onto is in who your God really is, anchoring ourselves in that wisdom, knowing and having faith by surrendering trusting. Only through the fires of adversity can we grow, develop strength, and confirm our belief that God chooses us and loves us enough to make us stronger through managing adversity.