Rav Elimelech Biderman shared the following anecdote about emuna and bitachon:
The Shinover Rav once remarked to his talmidim that the people in our world are surely backward. The normal way of the world is that when people are in need of a small sum of money for a particular purpose, then they are at peace. They have great bitachon (trust) that somehow, they will get the money – after all, it’s such a small amount! But when a person needs a larger sum of money, then the opposite happens. They get all nervous; they worry and fret – how will they ever come up with such a large amount?!
The opposite attitude, however, is appropriate, explains the Shinover. Whoever is in need of a great sum, a large amount of money that he knows for sure he has no way in the world to amass – such a person must place all of his emuna and bitachon in Hashem alone. Since he is relying solely on Hashem, surely Hashem will take care of all his needs! Conversely, someone who only needs a small sum of money and believes that he has the power himself to gather together the needed sum or borrow it from somewhere – he should surely worry! For if he is not relying on Hashem then, me’ayin yavo ezri – from where will his salvation come?!
