Episode 32 - Trust Changes Everything When Life Makes No Sense

A knocked cup. A shocked child. A friend ready to spread the scandal. Then the reveal: it wasn’t water in the glass—it was bleach. That jolt reframes the whole moment, and it’s our entry point into Emuna: practical trust in a present Creator who acts with purpose, not randomness.

We walk through a clear roadmap of faith that actually maps to daily life. First, the basic level: God is real and close, guiding every step with divine providence. Second, the intermediate level: everything that unfolds is for the best, even when you can’t see why. Third, the upper level: each event is exact, tailored to your growth like a precise note in a score written across time. This isn’t blind optimism—it’s a trained way of seeing that cools anger, dissolves jealousy, and turns confusion into clarity.

Along the way, we challenge the modern story that material success can replace spiritual grounding. We share why Torah learning functions like an unbroken lifeline that keeps our inner compass true, and how consistent study across the globe sustains more than we notice. You’ll hear how to shift from reaction to reflection, from guessing the plan to listening for purpose, and from frantic self-reliance to a steadier trust that changes how your day feels, decision by decision.

If you’re looking for a mindset that brings peace without dulling your edge, this conversation offers a durable framework. Press play, subscribe for more grounded, purpose-driven episodes, and share this one with someone who needs a fresh way to see a hard moment. Then tell us: which level of Emuna are you choosing today?

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome & Book Giveaways
• 0:55 Why Emuna Matters For Humanity
• 2:23 Torah As The World’s Lifeline
• 3:29 Three Responses To Hard Moments
• 6:40 The Three Levels Of Emuna
• 9:20 Living With Purposeful Trust
• 10:45 Closing & Listener Actions

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:11

Welcome to the Trust Factor Podcast, the only podcast that guarantees your success when you implement its divine age old teachings. Good morning, everybody. Thank you for joining us, for taking the time to be with us on another episode of season two, the Trust Factor Podcast. Yesterday, a new winner was announced and notified about the book. We were giving away the book Amuna. We've got one copy left that's going to go away next week. We give that copy away next week. Then we're into giving away copies of the book we're going through right now, the gem called The Garden of Amuna. There are 10 copies. Picked them up fresh from Israel just a few weeks ago. So those are going to start being given away the week after next. We're finishing off chapter two on this book. And up until now, we've given you a high-level understanding of what Amuna is and just how important and foundational it is for all of humanity to live with Amuna, which means to have a relationship with your creator. It's critical. It's not optional. It is absolutely critical for the success and the survival of humanity. That's why this podcast was created and why these ideas are being brought to bear. Because the world simply cannot survive without them. What we as humanity have forgotten is that we have lived off of these principles for thousands of years. These are the principles that have allowed humanity to exist and indeed to thrive. But it's only been a 200-year phenomenon where people have started to leave the teachings of God. It's only been 200 years, 250 years. This whole idea of modernization where people thought that they were enlightened and therefore they're pulling away from old outdated documents and what they thought were folklore and stories and have tried to go on their own. And while there have been massive amounts of success in the last 250 years in terms of material success, it's come at the cost of our spiritual success. And so we cannot abandon these ways. These are the ways that allow us to exist, my friend. So it's not an option. And he finishes off chapter two by saying that Emuna is the only chance, not only for peace in the world, but for the very continuation of our existence on this planet. It says very clearly, if it wasn't for his Torah being learned day and night, the world would return to Tohu Vavohu, which means the way that it was before creation. In the beginning of the Torah, when you open up the five books of Moses and Bereshit, the first thing it says is that the world was Tohu Vavohu, that it was this mix, it was this mashup of white and black, it was a grayness, it was a static, the old school static, if you will, on the television screen, just as a comparison that you used to get the snow on the screen. You could compare that to the way the world was before God created it. And it says if it weren't for the few who were sitting and learning and maintaining the world through their learning of the Torah, morning and night, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, somewhere on the ball of the earth, there are people learning God's Torah. And that is what's keeping this world turning. Okay, so that was high level. Now we get into what are these levels of Amunad? Let me give you an illustration of what he's about to get into over here from none other than Rabbi Zachariah Wallerstein, whose memory should be a blessing. He gives an analogy. It was a long time ago, so let me see if I get this right. You're a small kid and you go to school and you're telling your friends in school, the whole year you're telling your friends about how wonderful your father is. Your father's the coolest guy in the world, and your father can do everything, and there's nothing that he can't do, how strong he is and how smart he is, and you just keep filling him up with all these wonderful illustrations of who your father is. Until the day that you invite a friend over to your house to come and actually witness firsthand just how great your father is. And you come home, and while your father's out, still at work, you and your friend are on the driveway throwing around the basketball, working up a sweat. When the game's over, you get into the house, you grab some water from the fridge, and you head up to your room. And just as you close the door, you hear your father come into the house, and heavy footsteps come rushing up the door. Your father walks into the room, makes a beeline straight to you in front of your friend, sees you holding that glass of water, and smacks it out of your hand and sends it flying across the room, turns around and leaves. Now your friend looks at you and says, Ha, your father, your father's the greatest guy that ever lived. You're so close to your father. Your father loves you. And look at what he just did to you. I'm gonna tell everybody. Tomorrow in school, everybody's finding out just the opposite of what you've been telling us, and storms out. Now you're left holding the bag. What just happened? There are three ways, based on where you're holding in your relationship with your father, of how you view that whole situation. Number one is the fact that you get very, very mad at him. You get irate, you never want to speak to your father again. Is that a level of Amuna? And the answer is yes. It's a Muna. Why? Because even though you hate him, you acknowledge that he exists. You acknowledge that he's real. You acknowledge that he's your father. Even though you hate him and you want to disown him, by definition, you're acknowledging him. So that's a basic, very simple level of Amuna that he exists. He exists. I may not want to have anything to do with him, but he exists. What's level two? Level two is that my father cares about me. And my father saw that there was something wrong. I don't know what that was, but my father would have never done something if it wasn't good for me. So I give him a pass. And the third level of Amona is that you don't even question. Not only do you not get upset, but you don't even question what happened, and you know with absolute certainty that nothing could have been better. And in fact, that's what happened. In this scenario, the father knew that in that cup was not water, but in fact, bleach that the father had put into that bottle before he left for a specific purpose. And the son didn't realize that, took that bottle and was about to drink it, and the father came over and saved that kid's life. That's the outlook that is the highest level of Amuna. Let's go to the book and see which three levels we have based on what the book, the Garden of Amuna, has to tell us. It says, there's basic level Amuna, which is the firm belief that everything comes from God by way of divine providence. Divine providence is that God walks with you every step you take, every second of the day, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from the second you're born until the day you die, God is with you. He's not just a creator, he's not just somebody who operates the world from arm's length. He is intimately involved in each and every one of our lives. Just as a parent can have 12 children and divide up their love to those 12 children and give them all equal time and attention and a sense of love and belonging without detracting from another child, so too, God can do that just infinitely more. He can be with 8 billion people generation after generation, every day, all day long, without any problem. And in fact, that's exactly what he wants to do. That's the basic level to know that there is a God and that he's intimately involved in my life 24-7. Intermediate level is, in addition to having this basic level of Emuna, but it needs to be flawless, is that the intermediate individual believes that everything God does is for the best. You hear? Just like I finished explaining in the story before. Number one is my dad exists, he's there, I see, and he's always inquiring. He's always around. Every time I wake up, he's there, every time I go to bed, he's there. I can rely that my father is there. I know that. Nobody's ever going to convince me that he's not here and that I don't see him and he's not intimately involved in my life. Number two is that everything he does is for my best. Okay, I don't know what that best is. I don't have eyes to see what's happening in the background. I have no idea what's going on backstage. He does. I put all of my faith in him that he's taking care of me. But the upper level, if you could imagine there's one even greater than that, is that in addition to solid basic and intermediate level amuna, the upper level individual believes that God does everything for a specific purpose. A person with upper level amuna tries to understand the message within whatever God does. Not only is it good, but it's specific. It's exacting. How can it be exacting? Because he knows what happened in previous existences. He knows what happened 200 years ago and 400 years ago and 900 years ago. He knows very well what our track record is. He knows, and he's been keeping receipts. We don't. And so we rely on him to assist us, because that's what a father does, to navigate this world in a way that allows us to address the problem areas of our lives over previous existences. And therefore, when we don't understand something, when it doesn't make sense to us, it flies in the face of logic. Remember, I've given you example after example of scenarios that you come up against where suddenly you think that A should be your solution, but it isn't. And it makes no sense that A is not your solution, that you have to look elsewhere. Forget what you know. Put your mind on park and let God take the wheel because he knows what's going on. And accept with love that everything he's doing is for a specific purpose, that purpose is for your good, and it can only be done by him. If you operate like that, then there is no possibility in the world that you will get upset today. There is no possibility in the world that you will be jealous of somebody today. There is no possibility in the world that you're going to be sad today. All of those emotions, those negative emotions, you can crumple them up and throw them out the window. When you walk around knowing this information, what I've just given you over, then it becomes absolutely clear to you and you have solid purpose behind you, and you're no longer questioning. Everything, my friends, absolutely everything makes sense, which is the exact opposite of where we're living today in society where nothing seems to make sense, my friends. The Torah is eternal. It's been here forever, it's not going anywhere. Latch on, and life will start to make sense. Have an amazing day. Thank you for spending time with us on the Trust Factor Podcast. If you've heard something today that moved you, save this episode and share it with someone who might need to hear it. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss upcoming conversations that challenge, empower, and uplift. And if you're on social media, connect with us. Leave your thoughts, drop a quote that resonated with you. Hashtag the TrustFactor Podcast. Until next time, keep growing in your trust and keep living with purpose. I'm Jesse Revivo, and this has been the Trust Factor Podcast. Thanks for listening.