The more a person learns about emunah and bitachon, the more strength and courage he will have to live life the way Hashem wants him to live it. Learning emunah is learning about Who Hashem is, how He runs the world, and what He expects from us.
When we know that Hashem is the One providing our parnassah, and that our hishtadlut is just the means through which He sends it, we're able to make decisions with a confidence that otherwise we may not have had.
A man related that his wife works as a substitute preschool teacher for a group of preschools in another neighborhood. Almost every day, the principal tells her where she needs to be the following morning. One of the biggest difficulties is traveling. It takes her at least twenty minutes to get to work, which means she has to leave early and miss the crucial hour of getting their own children off to school. Every morning requires new arrangements, and as their family grew, the situation became very difficult.
For years, they just accepted it. They felt this was their hishtadlut for parnassah and part of the difficulties that come along with earning a living. Eventually, his wife worked up the courage to ask the principal if she could become the permanent substitute in the preschools in their own neighborhood. He immediately told her there were no available positions there and she had to stay with what she was doing. And so they continued on as before.
Recently, however, the husband began learning Shaar HaBitachon in the Chovot HaLevavot every day with a chavruta. They were learning about the benefits of having bitachon, and one of them is that while people may have to travel great distances to earn a livelihood, the baal bitachon knows Hashem could provide his parnassah right near his home without all the difficulties of traveling.
Those words changed his perspective. Until then, he felt that if his wife's job required her to travel every day, they had no other choice. But now he was learning what it means to truly know that parnassah only comes from Hashem. The principal was not the one providing for them. The job was not providing for them. It was Hashem Who was providing for them, and that knowledge gave him tremendous strength.
He came home and told his wife, "That's it. You're not traveling to the other neighborhood anymore. Just tell the principal you're only able to work in the preschools nearby."
This was very difficult for her to do. They didn't know what the principal would say or what would happen with her job. But learning Shaar HaBitachon gave him so much courage to live according to what he was learning, and he inspired his wife as well.
His wife told the principal that she would no longer be able to travel to the other neighborhood. A few hours later, the secretary called her back and said, "It's not a problem. There's another substitute who works in the preschools in your neighborhood but lives near the ones where you've been working. She also just asked if she could stop traveling, so we'll just switch the two of you."
They were thrilled. But then came the most amazing part. Who was the other substitute teacher? She was the man's chavruta's wife!
The two men had been sitting together every day learning Shaar HaBitachon and internalizing its lessons. Without either one knowing what the other one was doing, they both came away with the strength to make a change regarding their wives' work schedules.
This is the power of learning emunah and bitachon. It teaches us what life is supposed to look like. It teaches us Who is controlling everything, Who is protecting us, and Who is determining the outcome of everything we do. The more we internalize those truths, the less we will have to live with fear and uncertainty.
When a person learns more about Who Hashem is and lives according to that knowledge, he will have tremendous strength. He will not feel trapped by his circumstances or frightened about what will happen if he does what's right. He knows that Hashem is always taking care of him, and his only concern is to live the way Hashem wants him to live.