The Trust Factor
A daily lesson that focuses on achieving unparalleled success in life using ancient wisdom in modern times.
We will be discussing critical concepts as they are laid out in the book Sha'ar Habitachon - The Gate of Trust. Written 1000 years ago, the author reminds us of the values and wisdom that have allowed humanity to thrive throughout history.
The concept of trusting in a higher power that exists purely for our benefit, puts us in the drivers seat with absolute confidence to achieve greatness.
Eliminate: Fear, Hatred, Anxiety, Depression, Jealousy, Greed...forever!
* Note that some terminology will be in the original Hebrew or Aramaic which I will always follow with the English translation.
The Trust Factor
Episode 57 - God Sees Your Heart: True Faith Beyond Self-Deception
What if the secret to success isn't gaining more control, but surrendering it? The Trust Factor podcast dives into Rebbeinu Bachia's thousand-year-old wisdom from "The Gate of Trust," revealing why complete trust can only be placed in the Divine.
We explore the seven criteria that make God alone worthy of absolute trust and why placing that same level of trust in any person, government, or institution inevitably leads to disappointment. This episode focuses specifically on God's omniscience—how the Divine sees not just our actions but our innermost thoughts and motivations. This awareness prevents self-deception about our true level of trust.
The host candidly shares personal struggles with trust, particularly regarding politics and witnessing corruption. "I've been working on it for 20 years," he admits, highlighting that developing complete trust is a lifelong journey. Perhaps most revolutionary is the podcast's perspective on free will: our only true freedom lies in choosing between right and wrong. Everything else—our circumstances, challenges, success, and failure—remains under divine management.
This understanding leads to a powerful principle: "You do His work, and He does yours." When we focus on fulfilling our divine purpose rather than micromanaging mundane problems, those problems often resolve themselves. The host shares personal examples of this principle in action within his own business, where equipment failures diminish when he focuses on helping others connect with their creator.
Ready to experience the freedom that comes from surrendering control? Listen now and discover how ancient wisdom can transform your modern life. Share your own journey of trust with us and join our community of seekers who are finding success through surrender.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Trust Factor, the only podcast that guarantees success in life using divine age-old wisdom. We had a really good run of some great stories and examples of how to improve our lives, how to become the best versions of ourselves in this life. We are continuing with the book. That's the whole purpose of this program is to run with the book the Gate of Trust and to learn from thousand-year-old wisdom. Rebbeinu Bachia told us early on and you can go back and listen to previous podcasts he said that there are seven criterion that we have to look for in our provider in order to be convinced and to know with absolute certainty that only he is deserving of our complete and utter trust. We've said there are people in this world who are providers. We are all providers to a certain extent and to different extents at different times in our lives. We are all providers but we are limited in our abilities to provide. Because we're human and because we are temporary beings and because we are living in a finite world. It is not possible for us to even approach the abilities of God and his ability to give and provide. When you've assessed these seven criterion, you know with absolute clarity, my friends, that any faith or full trust that you put in any human being or any institution is a waste of time. All you're doing is setting yourself up for disaster, setting yourself up for failure. Analyze the criterion and you will know with absolute certainty that there is only one entity, god himself, who has all of these seven, and therefore he is the only one that we should put our complete trust in. Now Rabbeinu Bachia continues and he gives us five principles on which we need to base the ability to have that trust, and one of those principles is knowing what I just said, that the first one is that he is the only one who has all seven traits. Great, you figured that out, wonderful. Sometimes it's easy to figure that out. Sometimes it's a little bit more difficult.
Speaker 1:The way that Hashem runs this world, the way that God runs things, is obviously hidden and it's not understood by mankind. If we understood the way he ran the world, that would put us on par with him or God forbid, it would put him on par with us. We don't want that. We want to make sure that we understand that he operates in a realm that we will never be able to comprehend. That's why he's God, and that's why we are mortals. Okay, he runs the universe. He created it and he recreates it every single day. He manages every facet of it, plus, and including, the 8 billion residents of planet Earth and every generation that has ever come before us and will come after us, are all under his divine supervision, my friends.
Speaker 1:So, as much as you might want to put your faith in a government or an institution, that faith has to be very, very limited. The only place you should put complete trust in is with him. Now we continue to talk about the second principle of having trust in God. And what does he say? The second principle of having trust in God? And what does he say?
Speaker 1:He says that you have to know a person needs to know that God is watching. We've heard this before, right? When you were a young kid, your mother said to you be careful, somebody's always watching. Right, even what goes on behind closed doors. You're always being watched. Nothing is hidden from him, whether his open deeds or his secret deeds, whether inner thoughts or outward appearances and actions, nothing is hidden from him. Whether his open deeds or his secret deeds, whether inner thoughts or outward appearances and actions, nothing is hidden. God knows everything.
Speaker 1:Why is he bringing this up? What's the point of telling us this? Because what he's saying over here is that sometimes we walk around delusional, you know. Sometimes we want to believe that we have absolute trust in God, and guys I'm talking to myself here, you're just listening in Sometimes I want to believe that I'm flying on this concept of emunah, of faith and bitachon, trust that that's my entire being and my entire existence. And I got to tell you I've been working on it for 20 years. So I like to think that I've worked, that I've developed, that I've earned and grown in that department. But there are certainly places in my life, there are events that come up and I've told you in the past specifically around things like politics, where I see humanity corrupt, human beings who are just really bad people making decisions for all of us and the institutions that they've built around them to be able to manipulate humanity. And that drives me nuts and oftentimes I get frustrated by it, and the reality is I shouldn't, because, if anything, they have absolutely no power. You know, I've said this before and it bears repeating.
Speaker 1:We have one thing, and one thing only when it comes to free choice, we only have the free choice to choose to do good or bad, right or wrong. That's it, my friends. Every other facet of our lives we do not have any control over. You might like to think that you do. The media may tell you that you do. Commercials on television may tell you that you have control. But the reality is, my friends, you don't. And that's a good reality, because he controls everything else. He knows what he put us here to accomplish and he knows what we need to be surrounded with in order to accomplish that. So the only thing he enables us to control is what are we going to do today? Are we going to get up and go to work or are we going to stay in bed and complain? Are we going to make the right decision or are we going to make the wrong decision? That's it.
Speaker 1:But when it comes to world leaders, when it comes to political figures, the guys who make decisions for the masses, it says that even that choice of free will to do good or bad, right or wrong, even that they don't have. So for me, when Hashem sees in my heart, when it comes to my trust in Him, issues around politics he knows full well where I'm at. I can try and dilute myself all day long to think that I put all of my trust in Him. But I know full well that I have places in my life, in certain times or instances or occurrences, where my faith is tested, my trust is tested, and that's all of us, my friends. We are all human beings.
Speaker 1:But the reality of it is that the more he looks into your heart and he sees that you put it all in his hands, the more he steps up and takes everything you give him, the more you say, god, I can't manage this. I need your broad shoulders. My shoulders are not broad enough. I need you to manage A or B or C, because I just can't manage this. I need your broad shoulders. My shoulders are not broad enough. I need you to manage A or B or C, because I just can't do it. I've given everything I've got and I can't manage this. He takes over. That's it. And even if you can manage it, let's talk about business. Let's say you're in business and you can manage your business.
Speaker 1:You can be in the back fixing equipment all day long. Again, I'm talking to myself Oftentimes that's what I find myself doing If I want to be in the back fixing machines all day long, because I think that's where I'm supposed to be used and that's why I'm best utilized. He will make sure that I have machines to fix. That's just the way it is. We've said, in the way a person wants to go, he has an obligation to take you right. So if I want to sit in the back and fix equipment all day long, guess what? I'm going to have equipment failure after equipment failure and I'm going to be the one fixing it At the same time.
Speaker 1:If I don't want to be in the back, if I want to be in the front recording podcasts for you people, to make you guys come closer to your creator, to help you improve your quality of life, to help you become the best versions of yourself, that is helping his children, because you're all his children. Then he says you know what? Your time is much better spent doing that. You do my work and you know what happens. He takes care of the machines in the back. He makes sure that the machines don't break down and if they do break down because they're machines, eventually they're going to have to. The fix is quick and easy. My friends, I'm not just making this stuff up. I live this stuff. I'm telling you about it because I live it every single day. The more I do his work, the more he does my work. That's just the way it works.
Speaker 1:So if you want him to take care of your problems and I don't know why you wouldn't then give it to him. And the way to give it to him is for you to back away. But you got to remember he knows what's in your heart. That's what Chavot HaLevavot is telling us over here. He knows what's in your heart. So if you're just backing away as a test to see is he really going to do it or is he not going to do it, because in the meantime I'm not doing his work, you know I'm doing something else. That's going to be self-serving. Then guess what? It's not going to happen. It's not going to happen as much as you'd like it to. It's not. You're testing him but at the end of the day you're not doing what you're supposed.
Speaker 1:A full recognition that he's in charge and that he wants to do this for you because he wants you to do the important things in this world and not occupy yourself with the mundane stupidity that occupies most of our days. If you do that with a whole heart, then step aside and watch him run your life. That's how it works. You do his work and he does yours, but he knows. That's why he says it over here. He sees what's in your heart. So be honest. Be honest intellectually, be honest spiritually. He will see into your heart and the amount that you want to give over to him he will take and he will leave you with all the good. Have an amazing, amazing day. We'll speak tomorrow.
