Welcome to the daily chizuk (strengthening). The Zohar writes in Parashat Va'era that a person should spend all of his days strengthening his relationship with Hashem. The closer you are, the more heavenly help you will have. Success in life comes from Hashem. Don't waste your time looking in other places. The more you look for Hashem and the more you connect with Hashem, the more tranquil your life will be.
The Pasuk (verse) says in Tehillim, and the Gemara in Berachot explains: Hashem is our guardian, and He can protect in all circumstances. The Pasuk says, “Hashem will guard you from harm, and Hashem will protect your life.” Guardians of flesh and blood have limited abilities; they can't prevent illness or death. But Hashem Yitbarach (may He be blessed) is the ultimate Shomer (guardian). He is capable of guarding life.
I heard from Rabbi Shlomo Farhi a story that took place about seven years ago. He's involved in Kiruv (outreach) in England, and he said that one day he got a knock at the door from a teenage boy who told him, “Rabbi, I know Hashem loves me, but I have a difficult situation and I need your help.” So the rabbi asked him, “How do you know that Hashem loves you?” The boy said, “Oh, that's for sure. If you want, I'll tell you the story.”
“Last year, I used to go to choir practice every Thursday morning in the summer. I used to take a train to get there. It was far away, and choir practice started at 9 a.m. One time, I was on the train, and I looked at my watch. It was 8.30; I was almost there. I had some time to spare. I looked up at the stop and saw there was a Starbucks coffee across the street, so I thought to myself, ‘Let me go there, relax a little, get a cup of coffee, and come back. I'll catch the next train; I'll make it with plenty of time.’”
He got off the train and walked toward the store. All of a sudden, he heard a huge explosion. He turned around and saw that the train had been blown up. He started crying. He saw sirens and fire engines. He picked up the phone to call home, but all the lines were busy. He started walking, but he was in a daze. It took him two hours to walk home. He finally got home and saw mourning. His parents were crying, and when they saw him, they said, “You're alive; we can't believe it. You were on that train.” They told him, “Do you know what's going on? There was a synchronized attack on the transportation system at 8.50 a.m. this morning. Many other trains were attacked at the same time, and your train was one of the targets. We thought you were on it.”
The boy said, “What did you say, 8.50? It didn't happen at 8.50; it was at 8.30.” They said, “No, everything was at the same exact time, 8.50.” The boy looked at his watch, and it was still showing 8.30. The boy said, “Shema Yisrael (Hear, O Israel), Hashem stopped my watch at 8.30. He saved my life.”
The rabbi asked the boy, “Do you have a picture of that watch?” The boy said, “Rabbi, if you want, I'll give you the watch,” and he went home to get it. He brought back the watch, and it was still showing 8.30. The rabbi said, “If I ever have a question in Emunah (faith) for the rest of my life, I'm going to look at that watch and remind myself that Hashem is controlling the world.” Have a great day.