Giving Up When Things Get Tough > > Mans self-destructive tendency (yetzer hara) overpowers him daily and threatens to kill him. Were it not for Gods help, man would not survive. (Talmud - Kiddushin 30) Every single aspect of our existence depends on God. Whether we stand up, raise our hands, use our brain, do a mitzvah, or battle the desire to do the wrong thing, our ability is all a gift from God. We are powerless without Him. It follows, then, that any goal is attainable if God gives us the power. So how did the phrase I cant enter our lexicon? The Talmud reports that Moses reprimanded the Jewish people: When you stood at Mount Sinai, God asked, Who will insure that you will always fear God? You should have replied Almighty, You will. You should have seized the opportunity to request that God give you fear of Heaven. The Jews wanted to be able to take full credit for their fear of Heaven, therefore they were reluctant to ask for it. Had they understood that every single thing comes as a result of Gods assistance, then they would have surely asked God for fear of Heaven, too. This demonstrated a lack of gratitude and appreciation for all that God had done until then. This desire to ignore Gods role in our accomplishments and take credit for ourselves is what makes people say This I can do, and this I cant. We avoid having to acknowledge that its all a gift. Wed rather feel that we fought and accomplished on our own steam. So we say I cant – when wed rather not make the effort to do something difficult. If we were truly grateful, if every morning we would thank the Almighty for our eyes, our hands, our brain, then wed also thank the Almighty for insight and understanding, and wed say, Almighty, please give me more! If we acknowledge that every accomplishment is from God, then we will realize there is nothing we cannot undertake... if God gives us the power.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 21:05:00 +0000