There is a principle and a way to turn a harsh judgment into mercy – rachamim. When one remembers that whatever he is going through was handpicked and planned by Hashem, that, in itself, will turn Elokim (Hashem's attribute of strict judgment) into Havayah (Hashem's attribute of kindness). This is hinted at in the first pasuk of the parashah (6:2): 'ה אני אליו ויאמר משה אל אלקים וידבר, "Elokim spoke to Moshe and He said, 'I am Havayah.'" Hashem told Moshe that your awareness that everything comes from Hashem will turn Elokim into Havayah – trouble into kindness.
This is also hinted in the pasuk (Tehillim 91:15) ואכבדהו אחלצהו בצרה אנכי עמו, "I am with him in distress; I shall rescue him, and I shall honor him." When you know that Hashem is with you when you are in distress, you will merit salvation.
It is known that Nachum Ish Gam Zu was called so because he would always say לטובה זו גם, "This, too, is for the good." But there seems to be a word missing in his name! His name should have been גם איש נחום לטובה זו! Reb Hershele Liska answers that זו גם implies that "This is also from Hashem." His awareness was זו גם, that the hardships he was enduring were from Hashem. With this awareness, automatically, everything becomes good.
The Kaliver Rebbe Shlita from America (may he have a refuah sheleima b'karov) taught the following beautiful vort: It states (6:5-6) וגם ...אתם מעבדים מצרים אשר ישראל בני נאקת את שמעתי אני 'ה אני ישראל לבני אמר לכן, "Also, I heard the moans of Bnei Yisrael that the Mitzrim are holding in bondage... Therefore, say to Bnei Yisrael, 'I am Hashem.'"
This can be translated as follows, "I heard that Bnei Yisrael say אותם מעבדים מצרים אשר, that the Mitzrim are enslaving them. They are not cognizant that the slavery comes from Me. Therefore, tell them 'ה אני, that everything is from Me, Hashem.
When Bnei Yisrael will have that awareness, the following words of the pasuk will transpire: מצרים סבלת מתחת אתכם והוצאתי ובשפטים נטויה בזרוע אתכם וגאלתי מעבדתם אתכם והצלתי גדלים, "I will take you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will save you from their labor, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments." This is because when we believe that everything comes from Hashem, it all becomes chesed.
The Nile turned to blood, and all the fish died. This seemed like a problem for the Egyptians and the Jewish nation alike because one of the main staples in Mitzrayim was fish, as it states (Bamidbar 11:5) הדגה את זכרנו חנם מצרים נאכל אשר, "We remember the fish that we ate in Mitzrayim free of charge." It seemed that this makkah took away the parnassah, the livelihood of the Jews. However, it was the opposite. The Midrash (Shemos Rabba 9:10) states, "The Jewish people became wealthy from the plague of blood. How? A Mitzri and a Yisrael were in the same house, with a barrel full of water. The Mitzri wanted to pour some of that water into his pitcher. However, it just filled with blood, while the Jew drank water. The Mitzri said, 'Give me a little bit of your water.' He gave, but it turned to blood.
The Mitzri said, 'Let's drink together from the same bowl.' The Yisrael drank water, and the Mitzri drank blood. Only when he paid the Yisrael for the water did he have water. This was how the Jewish nation became wealthy."
The Zera Shimshon discusses this to show that when we think we are losing, Hashem turns everything around and makes it good for the Jewish nation. The Jewish nation also thought they were losing when the Nile turned to blood because there would be no fish, but they became so wealthy that they had plenty of food to eat. This primarily occurs when we know that everything is from Hashem. This awareness causes everything to become chesed.
A wonderful segulah is written in Or HaTorah (written by the nephew of the Pri Megadim zt'l, who was a student of Rebbe Boruch of Mezhibuzh zt'l), "I heard a tzaddik say to one of his close students, 'If you have any trouble, be it with money or anything else, say: 'Ribono Shel Olam, You created Me, You give me life. I hold on to You alone, and therefore, no one can harm me.'" He writes that it is proven that saying this will protect you from all dangers.
In the zemiros of Kah Ribon (Friday Night), it states, אלפין שנין גבר יחיה לו. Rebbe Yitzchak of Vorke zt'l says that אלפין can be translated as alefs, which represents Hashem. גבר יחיה לו, a person should live, אלפין שנין, years of recognizing that everything is from Hashem, גבורתך יעול לא, and then he won't suffer from gevuros, dinim, and hardships. His awareness that everything is from Hashem will protect him from all troubles and will turn all problems into goodness.
