At one of the open AA meetings I attended, I heard a recovering alcoholic say: “G‑d got me to it; He will get me through it.”
Classic AA. Simple and powerful.
Here is the more complex version:
Let's consider a horse trainer who is teaching a horse to jump over obstacles. The horse might think that the trainer is out there to stop him from running; in reality, however, the obstacle is designed to awaken within the horse the power to jump. Without the obstacle the horse will never find out that he has the capacity to overcome it. When the horse finally gets it and learns how to jump, the trainer might give him a carrot. However, by next morning he has already designed a higher obstacle for the horse to overcome. Now the horse is thinking, AHA! Now I really know that he is trying to get me. But soon enough, the horse learns to overcome that obstacle, too.
Let's see... can we achieve what horses do? Do we think G‑d is at least as organized and inventive as a horse trainer? Do we think that we have hidden spiritual energy that is awakened only when we are faced with a challenge? Can we imagine that anyone else besides G‑d is designing our training program? Can we trust Him and know that the obstacles are not put there to block us, but to encourage us to jump?
Knowing all that, it only makes sense to accept the situation that I face today as having been tailor-made for me today. And my response to that challenge should be to turn to G‑d to help me with finding within myself the power to jump. It is easier than you think.
Are challenges real? Is the obstacle really there? In the case of the horse trainer, the obstacles are obviously real. That is the only way to get the horse to jump. G‑d has it better. He can give us the illusion that we have an obstacle in front of us, and achieve the same result: G‑d gets us to jump over it.
Our Kabbalah teachers tell us that, indeed, all obstacles to spiritual growth are only illusions; for there is nothing in G‑d's world that can really hold a person back from getting closer to G‑d. It just doesn't make sense. The illusion disappears as soon as we have the willingness to jump... As soon as I make the decision that I will ignore the obstacle, and continue to grow spiritually despite the problems, that in itself is “the jump.” The obstacle has already served its purpose, so it will cease to exist in G‑d's world.
So, indeed, it's that easy! All I have to do is to make the decision to turn my will and my life over to the care of G‑d, and all the obstacles will just disappear...
