When Business is Not Going Well
We are living through difficult financial times. What can we do about it? We know that everything that G-d does is for the good. We know that He does not want us to suffer. On the contrary, G-d wants nothing more than to bestow His bounty on us. So, how can access that bounty?
Shabbos is the well-spring of blessing. Look inside your heart. Are you getting the most out of your Shabbos? Is Shabbos really a resting place for you? Do you leave business at the door on Friday afternoon, and welcome in G-d? Or, do you unfortunately find yourself doing the opposite?
When you let in business, you are saying that your material success is dependant upon you. If business is the center of your thoughts on Shabbos, then it is as if you are asking G-d to leave you in charge of your material success. It is hard to admit that we are not in control. That our success depends on G-d’s help. The only thing harder than admitting that we need G-d, is trying to go it alone.
Shabbos gives us an opportunity to say “O.K., G-d, I am leaving this one up to You. I have worked to the best of my ability for six days. Now, I am going to take a day off. No more running around. I am going to use Shabbos to just be with You and the wonderful family that You have given me. I trust that You will take care of me. I am going to let You feed me and clothe me today.” When you trust G-d on Shabbos, you come to realize that He is the one who is taking care of you on the other six days, too…
Why is this so hard to do? Because the yezer ha-ra comes along and tells us that we don’t deserve good. He argues that after all the distance that we have made from G-d during the week, He is never going to be interested in us on Shabbos. So, we sleep, or we ridicule, or we speak poorly about people, or Rabbis, or chalila about G-d Himself.
Fight back. H-shem loves us. We have closed the spigot to blessing in our own lives and we can open it again. Use Shabbos to sing zemiros. They have tremendous power. Use Shabbos to learn with your family, just a drop more about the Parsha, or about the halachos of Shabbos. Learn two halachos a day about the laws of proper speech and protect your family from negativity.
Then sit back, enjoy your Shabbos, and let H-shem do the rest…