As we learn the parashiyot of Avraham Avinu, it's important for us to understand some of the things that made Avraham so great. The pasuk says about Avraham, וּמָצָאתָ אֶת לְבָבוֹ נֶאֱמָן לְפָנֶיךָ — Hashem found his heart loyal before Him. Avraham was ne'eman. He stayed loyal to Hashem no matter what he went through.
After Avraham discovered Hashem, he devoted his life to spreading His name throughout the world. But instead of being praised for what he was doing, he was ridiculed and persecuted. Chazal tell us Avraham was thrown into prison for ten years. Imagine Avraham Avinu, a person who dedicated his life to bringing people closer to Hashem, sitting in prison year after year. A regular person might say to himself, "I'm doing everything for Hashem. Why isn't He helping me?" After five years, seven years, nine years, a person might begin to lose his strength. But Avraham remained ne'eman. And then, when he was taken out and given the choice of bowing to an idol or being thrown into a fiery furnace, Avraham was willing to give up his life for Hashem rather than turn away. Even after everything he had already gone through, his ne'emanut didn't waver at all.
The Rambam tells us Avraham went from city to city, gathering thousands of people and teaching them about Hashem. And all of that took place before Hashem appeared to him in parashat Lech Lecha. Avraham had already lived an extraordinary life. He had sacrificed so much and accomplished so much. We might have thought that at this point he had done enough. But little did Avraham know that his journey was just beginning. At the age of seventy-five, Hashem told him Lech Lecha, and an entirely new part of his life was beginning.
And what happened? Challenge after challenge. Hashem promised Avraham blessings when he would go to Eretz Yisrael, and right after he arrived, there was a famine. Hashem promised Avraham a great future, and then his wife Sarah was taken by Pharaoh. Hashem promised Avraham children, but year after year passed without His promise being fulfilled. Again and again, Avraham went through situations that seemed to contradict everything Hashem had told him. And throughout all of them, Avraham remained ne'eman. He continued following Hashem with complete emunah.
There are people today who go through challenges that have lasted for years. A person may say, "I can't anymore. I've been struggling with parnasah for so long. I've been praying and trying every segulah I could find, but nothing is changing. How much longer can I continue like this?" Someone else might say, "I've been waiting for a yeshuah for years already. I'm getting tired of praying for the same thing. I'm getting tired of hoping. I don't have the strength anymore." Those feelings are very natural. When a person has been struggling for so long, it's hard to keep going. But this is exactly when we need to learn from our greats. What makes a person great in this world? Hashem may give a person a test that lasts for a very long time. And when that person continues to be ne'eman after years of difficulty, that is what makes him so great.
We know the end of the story of Avraham. He became the father of the Jewish people. He merited to have Yitzchak Avinu. He was a prince in the eyes of the world, and Hashem gave him so much blessing. But that came after years of remaining ne'eman through one challenge after another. We don't know if and when our yeshuah will come, but we do know that every moment we remain loyal to Hashem is so precious.
Somebody recently told me, "I'm tired already. I'm getting old. I don't have the strength to continue with these challenges." Avraham was seventy-five years old when Hashem first told him Lech Lecha. At an age when a person might have thought he had already done enough, Avraham was just beginning the greatest challenges of his life. Every minute we have in this world is an opportunity. Every minute we can grow and gain things that will remain with us forever.
And when someone has been going through a challenge for a very long time, the more he continues to persevere, the greater he becomes. Imagine a person who has been praying for years, who keeps experiencing disappointment after disappointment, and continues getting up every morning and turning to Hashem again. Imagine a person continuing to say Birkat Hamazon with kavana after waiting months and years to see some financial success in his business. Imagine a person continuing to do mitzvot with enthusiasm and continuing to trust in Hashem, even though he hasn't seen the yeshuah he's been waiting for. Every additional day of remaining ne'eman is such a great accomplishment.
This is one of the great lessons we can learn from Avraham Avinu. We should never think that because we've been struggling for so long, we've already done enough. The longer the challenge continues, the greater the opportunity a person has to show his ne'emanut to Hashem. We hope the challenge will end today, but until it does, that's where the greatness lies. Hashem sees every effort, every tefillah, every moment of emunah. And what greater praise could there be for a person than for Hashem to say about him וּמָצָאתָ אֶת לְבָבוֹ נֶאֱמָן לְפָנֶיךָ — "He always stayed loyal to Me. He never gave up." That is what made Avraham so great, and that is the greatness each one of us can strive to have in our own lives.