We must also remember that Hashem Himself made our challenges so difficult. He knows how hard they are. He understands that people mess up, and though of course He doesn’t ignore what we do, He still loves us just as much when we fall into the trap of the yetzer hara. Hashem loves us even if we are swayed by desire and act foolishly. He loves us no matter how far we fall.
Hashem loves us as His creations. He created us to give to us, before we could even do anything to deserve it. Everything He gives us is a gift. Even when He rewards us in the next world for our good deeds as He has promised, that is only because He created this system, which He did because we will enjoy it the most. Ultimately, everything is a gift, from the free gifts He grants us to the reward He enables us to earn, and He gives it all because He loves us.
Don’t let the yetzer hara convince you otherwise. Any suggestion that Hashem doesn’t love you or has rejected you is a lie. It doesn’t matter how convincing it is because of your sins — it is wrong. Hashem still loves you as much as before. Even when you fall flat on your face, Hashem sees every bit that you tried and says, “How wonderful! Look how my children are trying to serve me despite great difficulty!” Hashem holds highly of you and He loves you so much. And even if you never exert yourself, Hashem still loves you as His creation. But you don’t need to go there, because if you are honest with yourself, you will remember the many times you tried hard to serve Hashem. You will see that you really want to do good, even if you get lost in a sea of desire. Deep down, you want to do the right thing. Every Jew has this trait; it’s just hidden sometimes. Discovering this part of you will lift you up.
We see the extent of Hashem’s love for us from His reaction when the Egyptians were drowning. As we saw in Chapter 5, Hashem was saddened and would not let the angels sing shira to Him over the salvation of the Jewish nation. Hashem loves all his creations no matter how far they have fallen. Surely, He has unbounded love for each member of His nation. This is especially so for those who want to do good and try to control themselves, even if they often fall.
The battle against desire is an enormous challenge. It feels so overwhelming. Yet we can succeed. We can change ourselves to the point that it will be easy for us to control ourselves. We will be excited to clobber the yetzer hara. We will live on such a high.
But no matter how strong we become, there will be times when we will need determination and willpower. Sometimes we will have to rely on our feelings that sin is wrong and that we don’t do that. Even if our desires seem to have weakened, we never know what unexpected challenge we will need these weapons for. To stay on top, we must develop each strategy and use it when necessary.
Willpower is an essential tool for standing up to the yetzer hara. Hopefully, we will reach the level where the prohibitions will make us happy because they help us crush the yetzer hara in the battle of the generation.
Quick Recap: