Part II THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FAITH IN GOD AND TRUST IN G-D
The simplest way to differentiate the two is by giving examples of what faith in G-d, and trust in G-d look like.
First example:
A man buys a lottery ticket. You have faith that G-d is:
- Omnipotent, that he can do anything
- Omnicient, all knowing, and knows what is best for you and the world
- Omnipresent, that he is everywhere in this world including present in a person’s daily life always
So the man knows that G-d knows he bought a lottery ticket and that it is in G-d’s power to permit him to win, if that is G-d’s will; this is faith in G-d.
What is trust in G-d? Trust in G-d is not that if G-d can make the man win the lottery, then the man will trust that there is a G-d. Trust in G-d means that whether the man wins the lottery or not, he knows that it is all good and for the best.
Second example. Man is in the jungle and a lion starts charging him. Man has faith, i.e., he knows that G-d is with him, he knows that G-d knows all and knows it’s in G-d’s power to save him from the lion. That Hkbh/G-d is kol yachol/omnipotent.
Man cant trust that G-d will save him, he can trust that whatever happens with the lion, whether he is saved, or bitten but alive, or dies, all is for the good and for his best.
There is a Jewish saying kshem shemivorchim al hatov, mevorchim al harah/as you bless the good, you should bless what you perceive as bad. And it is normal to feel that things are bad. If a man is ill, or not making his sustenance, he feels like bad things are happening to him. What does he do with that bad feeling? He looks at himself and wonders how he can do better, and it motivates him to aspire higher. He also turns to G-d to assist him in his aspirations, and to pave his way, so it is easier for him. That is how bad is not truly bad, but bad is good because it motivates the person who perceives that he is receiving bad to do better and to turn to G-d. So perhaps we should say, just as we bless the good, we should bless…the perceived bad.