A man told me he believes Hashem runs the world, but sometimes he has a problem fully internalizing it. It's especially challenging when he sees what appears to his mind to be a direct contradiction to that belief. He then told me about an incident that he once experienced. He owns an apartment building and at one time he was having difficulty with some of the tenants paying rent. They refused to pay and they refused to leave. The legal proceedings for something like that would drag on while he wanted them out immediately. Someone suggested to him that he pay people to occupy the units next to the people who weren't paying and have them make it very uncomfortable for those tenants. They would make loud noise at night and bring scary pit bulls into the hallway. The owner said that two wrongs don't make a right and refused to stoop to such levels. In the end, others who tried that method were very successful in achieving the results they were looking for. This man on the other hand did not get his tenants out for another three years. He then said to me, "It seems like nice guys finish last. I asked Hashem to help me get them out in a normal way, but it took three years. I'm sure if I would have used that other method, it would have happened much sooner." I told this man, "It could be that if you did what those people told you to do, you would have gotten them out earlier. Hashem works through the natural way of the world. However, that does not mean that you would have earned even one extra dollar over those last three years or saved yourself from even one minute of aggravation. Hashem has infinite ways of making people gain or lose money and infinite ways of people experiencing difficult situations. Everybody always gets exactly what's coming to them. "If the person who nastily removed those tenants was meant to have a circumstance like that in his life, then something else would come up. And if he wasn't meant to have it, then a simple hishtadlut would have removed the tenants." The man was so relieved when he heard this. This information was able to strengthen him to a higher level of emunah. This concept applies in all areas of life. I read a story in the book Marriage by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin that was told to the author by a certain individual, and this is what he said: "I wasn't satisfied with my marriage. I kept thinking that if only I had married someone else, my entire life would have been much smoother. This thought came to me often and was a constant source of distress. "One sentence that I heard from somebody helped me discard this thought. I was told by an elderly rabbi who I respect greatly, 'If you were married to someone else, you would also have problems.' The saintly scholar elaborated on this theme. 'Many people think that if they had only married a different person, they would be free from all of their present problems, but that is not the way that Hashem runs the world. ' If you wouldn't have had the problems you presently have, you would have an equal number of different problems. Someone might marry a person who is perfectly compatible with him, but if he is meant to have problems, they can come in the form of illness, poverty, or some other life test that can come their way. Whatever number of problems was destined for you will come your way in one form or another. Your task in life is to grow from each challenge.'" What had been a long-standing obsession was erased with this one insight from this elderly rabbi. So many internal struggles in emunah that people go through can be instantly erased with the proper guidance. When we do have the proper emunah, we will be able to overcome our challenges much easier.