Hashem created the world in a way that light follows the darkness, and goodness follows suffering. Therefore, going through hard times, one should remember that it won’t last forever. Better times will come.
The Gemara (Avodah Zarah 8.) teaches, "When the sun set on the day Adam HaRishon was created, Adam said, 'Woe is to me! The world has become dark because of my sin. The world will return to nothingness (ובהו תהו). This is the death that was decreed on me from heaven.' He sat and cried the entire night, with Chavah crying opposite him. When the morning arrived, Adam said, 'This is the way of the world.' He brought an ox [for a korban todah]."
The Chofetz Chaim said over this Gemara to his students during the First World War, when many were very afraid and worried. They thought there was no hope or future for them. The Chofetz Chaim said, "Adam HaRishon cried on the first night because he thought the world would come to an end, but he didn’t cry on the second night. By the second night, he understood that this was the pattern of the world. There was darkness and then light, darkness and then light again. The same is for us, Bnei Yisrael," the Chofetz Chaim explained. "In the history of the Jewish people, we have suffered through many dark eras. So many times, the 'sun set' for Klal Yisrael. But Hakadosh Baruch Hu saved us each time and we have seen the light again. So why are you so worried? The darkness we are going through now will be followed by light."
We see from Adam HaRishon that even such situations warrant praise to Hashem. Adam was afraid and worried that he had caused the darkness, but then he discovered that the darkness wasn't due to his sin. It was part of the world cycle, and it was never a problem. When he discovered this, he brought a korban. He thanked Hashem that there was no problem. This teaches us that when we have a worry, and then we find out that the fear was baseless, nevertheless, we are obligated to thank Hashem.
Chazal tell us that when it was dark for Adam, Hashem granted him with intelligence to rub two stones together, and fire came forth, and he had light. Let us learn from this that during hard times, we shouldn't just merely wait for the good times to come. We should work to find the light within the darkness. We should seek ways to be happy, even during the hard times.
Story of Reb Avraham Yehoshua Hershel of Kapishnitz
Reb Avraham Yehoshua Hershel of Kapishnitz zt'l was one of the great rebbes and tzaddikim who lived in America during the holocaust years. During the war, he ate very little and afflicted himself. The Rebbe Rayatz of Lubavitz zt'l wrote him, "I know that you went to a doctor, and he gave you a diet: the foods you may not eat, and the foods you should eat. However, my friend, you follow the doctor's recommendations regarding what you shouldn't eat, but you don't follow the doctor's order to eat the foods that he recommended you eat! From the depths of my heart, I request and plead from you that you should have rachmanus on yourself and your family and stop these afflictions..."
The Rebbe of Kapishnitz wrote back, "Although I cherish everything the doctor told me. However, I have taken upon myself not to eat meat on a weekday until Hashem looks down from His holy place in heaven and has rachmanus on His nation. I am filled with fear, and my hair stands up on end when I think about the great tzaros and the destruction that our brothers of Bnei Yisrael are enduring."
