Living with Divine Providence

by Dr. Bernie Kastner

I had another epiphany a few days ago. It wasn’t totally news to me, but it reinforced something very strong and very deep. And the source of it came from a text that I have been studying over the past few months – Kohelet. I would like to focus on a pasuk from Chapter 9 verse 11:
“I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all”.

One of the parallel translations to this verse goes like this:
I saw something else under the sun. The race isn’t won by fast runners, or the battle by heroes. Wise people don’t necessarily have food. Intelligent people don’t necessarily have riches, and skilled people don’t necessarily receive special treatment. But time and unpredictable events overtake all of them.

One of the commentaries explains that neither by swiftness, nor by strength and valor, are races and battles won. Hashem causes the lame often to take the prey, the prize; and so it is deemed that the weak overthrow the strong; therefore, no man should confide in himself. All things are under the government, and at the disposal of, Hashem.

In other words, everything that befalls us happens just as it is ordered by Divine Providence; for there is a certain “time” fixed by Hashem for every event.

I remember back in the 70’s riding in a cab driven by someone who had a PhD. He couldn’t find a job in his particular discipline and had to earn some kind of income, so he drove a cab. At the time it struck me as funny that someone so educated had to resort to driving a cab.

And then there are those who didn’t make it through high school who became very wealthy by working as an insurance salesman par excellence. Yet others struck it rich without lifting much of a finger by making one good real estate investment or by inheritance.

What struck me about this particular verse is that it often runs counter to our expectations. Our parents ingrained it in us to go to school and become educated. Upon graduation many couldn’t find a job so easily while our high school classmates, who elected to skip college became sanitation engineers (garbagemen) and bus drivers, were making a very respectable income. It begged the question: why bother going to school for so many years when we could make money in other ways without the “benefit” of a formal education?

But this notion of deciding whether to go to college or not is really hinged on something that is on a totally different wavelength. Divine Providence has much to do with our success, the degree of success, and the circumstances toward achieving it.

It is maddening to think of putting in so many hard years of studying only to not see the fruits of your labor. Where is the justice in that? Well, perhaps a BA isn’t good enough, so we get our master’s degree. It may lead to some more opportunities, but ultimately, that is not what will open up the doors.

If this is the case, then again we could ask “why bother”? If Hashem runs the world, what difference does it make if I work hard or not? I may as well take the easy route and do nothing and hope to get lucky.

We all know that Hashem wants to see us putting in the effort. We can’t guarantee our own success – no matter how many ads or how much PR and marketing we may do to promote a product. When Hashem sees that the effort is in place, then He will grant that success.

That is why we should not be surprised when we take a look around and see our neighbors flourishing while we are left lagging behind mortgage payments. We would do ourselves a service were we to shift our thinking inward rather than compare our plight outward. Our life is all about our personal growth and that means that we are competing with none other than ourselves. When I chart the amount of exercise I do one week and wish to keep it up or improve upon it, I will use that as a measure for getting to the next level. If I learned an average of thirty minutes a day last week, perhaps I should try to increase that to 45 this week.

It is true that the longer we hang around in this life we are subject to chance and happenstance – for the good and for the bad. While our soul has a plan before it comes down to this world, the road to our ultimate soul-correction is not always a straight path. We zigzag at times, even go off course. That’s where Divine Providence comes in. We must continue to work on ourselves and prepare for growth, development and increasing responsibility. We may even get an “A” for effort, but the guarantee of success lies in the hands of the Almighty.

The following inspirational story was forwarded to me by a friend and it contains elements of what I have been saying in this essay. Pay close attention to the rich woman who, despite all her money, was helpless, and of the lowly waitress who was worried about her family’s finances. Both ended up the recipient of Divine Providence.

One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her. Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he looked poor and hungry.

He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you.

He said, ‘I’m here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.’

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped.

Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, ‘And think of me.’
He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn’t erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan.

After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin.

There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: ‘You don’t owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.’

Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard….

She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, ‘Everything’s going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.’

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