From the shiurim on Kav Hashgachah Pratis
Therefore, even at a time when a sharpened sword is pressed against a person’s neck, he should not despair of Hashem’s mercy.
(Based on Ohr Yechezkel Part 3, Emunah)
Hashem Performs Miracles for Those Who Are Aware of His Mercy
Hashem yisbarach is called “complete, unadulterated rachamim,” and He is everywhere; there is no place where He is not present. But when a person doesn’t recognize this in his thoughts, that in itself is an obstacle to receiving His mercy. As long as he does believe and recognize this, he will be constantly connected to the greatness of Hashem’s mercy, and Hashem will readily perform miracles for him. This is the meaning of Chazal’s statement, “Even when a sharpened sword is pressed...he must not refrain from asking for mercy.”
Hashem’s mercy is everywhere; it is boundless. It all depends on the degree to which a person is connected in his heart to Hashem’s rachamim, for that is the key to bringing Hashem’s mercy actively upon him.
(Based on Divras Shlomo)
Don’t Lose Hope
My master and teacher (the Kehillos Yaakov) ztk”l told me that Rav Sorotzkin, rosh yeshivas Telz in America, was diagnosed with cancer over ten years ago l”a, and he had radiation treatment, and after a while it disappeared completely, and the doctors were amazed. My master and teacher told me: If Hakadosh Baruch Hu sends His refuah, then even cancer can be healed and disappear.
He added that someone asked the Chazon Ish ztk”l whether it is permissible to daven for someone who is ill with cancer, if there is no humanly possible way of healing it, so his refuah is in the realm of a miracle. The Chazon Ish responded that it is proper to daven, and he brought proof from the Rebbi of Shinegrad, who had cancer in his throat, l”a, for thirty years, and he came to Eretz Yisrael at the end. He suffered much pain, but he lived with it for thirty years. His case demonstrates that one can live for many years even if the doctors were sure that he would not live for more than a year.
(Based on Orchos Rabbenu, Hakehillos Yaakov)
There Are Many Gates of Rescue for Hashem to Use
Rabbenu Bachyei ben Asher explains bitachon in Hashem as follows: When a person knows deep in his heart that everything is in Hashem’s Hands, and that Hashem can change nature and transform his mazal, and that nothing at all, great or small, can stop Him from saving a person; and even when his troubles are closing in on him, Hashem’s yeshuah is near, for He can do anything, and no plot or plan is impossible for Him; even when he sees a sword pressed on his neck, it is not appropriate for him to lose hope of being rescued, as the passuk in Iyov (13:15) states, “Even when someone is in the process of killing me, I still hope for His [salvation].” And it says, “Trust in Him at all times,” meaning, even when dangers abound and a person cannot imagine how he will be saved, he should trust in Hashem, because the Omnipresent has many ways and many paths.
(Based on Kad Hakemach, Bitachon)
We Are Obligated to Keep on Believing, No Matter What
Are we truly believers? When we cannot see any avenue of yeshuah, we immediately despair of being saved. If this is the case, we are very far from having perfect emunah, for if we did, we would believe that our fate is not in the hands of nature. Even when it seems hopeless, we must still believe that Hashem can change our circumstances and that He might do so. We must never entertain the thought that this level of emunah and bitachon is more than we are obligated to have. On the contrary, this is the fundamental meaning of emunah, and if we are found lacking thereof, we will have to answer for it.
“And before Whom will you stand in judgment in the future? Before the King of all kings, Hakadosh Baruch Hu.”
We can explain this to mean that we will be judged regarding matters which, to the human eye, seem beyond hope. We will still be held accountable if we did not believe that Hashem could save us. This is because He is the King of all kings, Hakadosh Baruch Hu, to Whom there is no difference between a situation in which there is clearly reason to hope and a situation in which it seems that there is no hope.
And truthfully, we might be in more spiritual danger when the situation is not hopeless, because then we think that the salvation can comes naturally, and we do not attribute it to Hashem.
