Welcome to the Daily Chizuk. The Pasuk (verse) in Tehillim says, David HaMelech tells his son Shlomo some words of Musar (ethical instruction) regarding the construction of the first Beit HaMikdash. If Hashem doesn't help with building the house, then the builders are toiling in vain. The message David was giving to Shlomo is clear. You may have all the money in the world, all the manpower, the best architects, the best engineers. Shlomo had everything available to him. But if you don't have Hashem's help, then all your efforts will be in vain. Nothing is guaranteed in life. We need Hashem's help for everything. You could have a person who wants to build a new house. He has the money. He has the land. But issues could come up, and it might never come to fruition. Why not? Because if Hashem doesn't help, then all our efforts will be in vain.
You could have a genius who graduates high school valedictorian, voted most likely to succeed. He could go to a top college for four years with a 4.0 GPA. Yet when it comes time to get a job, he has to settle for something mediocre. And he ends up working. And he ends up working for the guy voted least likely to succeed. How did that happen? He had all the right tools. Because if Hashem doesn't help, then all our efforts will be in vain. Everything we do needs to be done. But some people have the wrong attitude.
I once heard a story of a certain businessman. He was fierce and ruthless in his dealings. But he attended school daily, and he used to pray a long Amidah with a lot of concentration. One day the rabbi asked this man, “It doesn't make sense to me, if you're so close to Hashem, and you need His help in your business dealings, why do you act the way you do?” And the man said, “No, Rabbi, you got it all wrong. I don't need Hashem's help. I could do it myself. But I know Hashem could ruin it for me. So I'm praying to Him to stay out of it.” This man's thinking is ridiculous. We need Hashem for everything. We can't move without Hashem. We stand up to pray the Amidah. The first thing we say is, “Hashem, I need you to be able to talk.” And Hashem loves to help us. But part of our mission in this world is to realize that we need His help, even for the most mundane matters.
Someone recently told me he leased a new car, but the dealer didn't have the right color, so he was waiting. Finally, after two weeks, the car came. And then it was a little dented. So he had to send the car back. And he waited another two weeks until he got his car. Was this an accident? Of course not. So why didn't he get his car? Why did he have to wait for a whole month? Because if Hashem doesn't want you to have it, you're not getting it. And the more we realize that we need Hashem's help, the more we will be helped. The next time you want to do something—start a project, go shopping to buy new clothing, go on a vacation, whatever it is—remember, if Hashem doesn't want you to buy it, then Hashem doesn't want you to buy it.
Los Amigos. Something about their souls.