Episode 4 - Why Your Setbacks Are Setups For Growth

Some days everything clicks, and others feel like the floor drops out. We took that jarring contrast and asked a bigger question: what if the lows are not proof that life is broken but proof that something larger is working through us? From the slingshot image—where deeper pulls create farther launches—to stories about money stress and parenting chaos, we make a case for seeing setbacks as setups for growth.

Together we unpack Emuna, a living practice of trust in a benevolent Creator who holds both the macro arc and the minute-by-minute details. We explore Divine Providence not as a rigid script but as a tailored environment where our relationships, timing, and opportunities are placed with intention. That means your circle, your challenges, and even the unexpected turns aren’t random; they are part of a designed path that invites repair, courage, and character. Whether you’re navigating a tight month, a tough season with your kids, or a career detour, this perspective offers a steadier centre and a practical way forward: do the next right thing, then release the verdict.

We also lean into the idea that recurring tests are invitations to finish unfinished work and strengthen what’s already good. Progress often looks like meeting the same moment with a wiser heart. By pairing responsible action with surrendered outcomes, we turn frustration into formation and anxiety into anchored trust. If you’ve been craving meaning in the mess and momentum in the stall, this conversation gives you language, tools, and a way to breathe again.

If this resonated, tap follow, share it with a friend who’s in a valley or on a peak, and leave a review so more people can find the show. Your words help us keep building honest, purpose-filled conversations.

Chapters

• 0:17 Welcome And Season Two Context
• 0:34 The Roller Coaster Of Life
• 1:09 Slingshot Metaphor For Setbacks
• 2:36 Money Highs And Lows
• 3:38 Parenting Joy And Friction
• 3:51 Emuna As The Master Key
• 4:05 Defining Divine Providence
• 5:00 Individual Paths And Differences
• 5:45 Reincarnation And Life’s Tests
• 7:18 Why Providence Prearranges Our Lives
• 9:50 Every Minute Judged And Guided
• 10:17 Closing And Calls To Action

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:17

Hello and welcome to the Trust Factor Podcast, the only podcast that guarantees your success when you implement its divine age old teachings. Welcome and thank you for joining us. This is episode number four of season two. We're already into it, my friends. We are just getting started. We're gonna pick up from where we left off yesterday, and it says the following We have an additional array of questions about the changes in our lives from day to day. Why was yesterday such an amazing day when everything went according to plan? While today for no apparent reason everything's a disaster, and I feel nothing but pain and sorrow. One day is up, one day is down. One year is an amazing year, the next year you wish you never had. That is called the roller coaster of life. Things aren't supposed to be straight in line in this world. That's not the way it works. God has to give you the lows for many reasons, most of which is so that you can experience and appreciate the highs and so that he can take you to further distances. In order for you to reach new highs, sometimes you need to reach new lows first in order for you to understand what's required for you to reach those new heights. What's it like? It's like a slingshot or a bow and arrow. When you pull on that sling or when you pull back on the bow, that bow or that rock or whatever it is that's pulling back, the further it goes back, when God releases it, it will catapult you even further. In other words, the more difficult the lows are, the higher the highs are. Why? Because you've experienced rock bottom. What do you think? So many people who've come out of incarceration, who've been imprisoned, come out and begin lives that are spectacular, that they reach amazing heights. Or after the Holocaust, where people went through the worst of human history, they come out of those ashes and they build something spectacular. Guys, that's not coincidence. It is by virtue of the difficulties. It is by virtue of the challenges that they faced on a day-to-day basis in their lives that allowed them the perspective and the abilities to be able to create amazing things. So don't look at those difficult times as bad. Look at them as an opportunity for growth. Why did I have plenty of money in my pocket last week? Yet this week's unexpected expenses have left me without enough money to buy even a loaf of bread. Maybe that's a little bit extreme. I'm sure some of you have been there. But the point remains. I've got good years where I'm not thinking about money. I don't have to think about it because thank God there's money in the bank. My expenses are paid. Everything I need is covered. I've earned more than I am used to earning, so there's more money in the bank. And I'm not thinking about money. Things are great. And then things go sideways, the economy suffers. You lose a big customer. There are changes, you lose your job. There's so many different things that can happen. And suddenly you're set back, and there's no money. And now all you're thinking about is money. Where am I going to get the money to pay for this? Where am I going to get the money to pay for that? I've got to make a decision. Do I invest in A or do I buy Y? Do I feed my children or do I pay my rent? God forbid. It's a difficult place for anybody to be. But we have the highs and we have the lows. And again, those lows are designed to be able to allow you to appreciate the highs. Why did I glean phenomenal joy from my children yesterday who were the epitome of respect and deportment? Yet today they've become miniature terrorists, driving me up the wall. The questions, my friends, go on and on. It says like this All of life's questions have one universal answer. You've probably guessed it by now. It's called Emuna. Emuna is like a master key to life's locked dilemmas. Emuna is the original Biblical Hebrew term for a firm belief in a single, supreme, omniscient, benevolent, spiritual, supernatural, and all powerful creator of the universe, which is referred to as God. Or Hashem, which literally means the name so that we don't risk using God's name in vain. Emuna teaches that Hashem both created and runs the entire universe, caring for each of us in a unique, tailor-made fashion, according to our own individual needs, which we refer to as divine providence. We've talked about that throughout season one. We said God is with us 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for everything from pumping our hearts and filling our lungs and giving us eyesight and doing all those wonderful things to our bodies to make sure that we're constantly operating and giving us the opportunities to be able to thrive. That's called divine providence. And it's specific to each and every one of us because no two people are the same. Everybody is different. That's why God created us with different faces. That's why you look around and you see millions and millions, hundreds of millions, and in fact billions of people with complete distinct characteristics. They look different from each other. Why? Because this is a reminder. When you see somebody and you see another person and you see the vast difference in their appearance, you should come to understand that just like two people are not identical in their appearance, obviously there are exceptions like twins and triplets, but just as they are different in their appearance, so too they are in their personality and in the circumstance under which God brought them into this world. Again, we've been here many times. This is not our first rodeo. We understand reincarnation is a cornerstone tenet of Judaism. And so we've been here many times before. Who knows about our previous existences? Who knows where we failed and where we succeeded when we were here on previous visits? Certainly not us. We don't have that memory. But he does. He knows exactly what we need to fix, and he knows what we've already done well, what we've already locked down. Those the things that we've locked down are put away for us. We're not meant to continue to repeat those same tests, but the things that we have failed at, the things that we need to improve, we're brought back to be able to try again, and that's called divine providence when he oversees that. As we shall see throughout this book, everything that happens to us in life is the product of Hashem's will and personal intervention in our lives. Divine Providence. Divine Providence dictates every detail in our lives, including the family that we're born into, who our soulmates will be, how our lives will look, what our talents and aptitudes will be, how much money we'll have, and who will be included in our social circles. Those are all predetermined factors and more. These and the myriad of additional factors are all Divine Providence's way to help us perform our task in life. Why? Why do we need to have this thing called Divine Providence? Why do those things need to be predetermined? Isn't that an amazing question? Why can't you just drop me in here and let me figure it out? And the answer is because he loves us and he wants us to succeed. He doesn't want us to come back down to this realm because this realm is, like we've said many times, it is a difficult place to be. There is a lot of corruption and deceit, and there's a lot of illness, and there's a lot of challenges that one goes through in this lifetime. He doesn't want us to have to come down. This is a temporary existence. This is a life that takes us from one world to the next. This life is about creating the ideal situation in the next world. But that doesn't mean we only focus on the next world. Because we're here, we have a distinct purpose here, and that is to elevate this world, spiritually elevate it. And so we have to be immersed in this world. But why do these things need to be so specifically cared for in terms of who we associate with and how much money we make and where we're living and all these different things? And the answer is because of this concept of reincarnation, because we've been here before, we've interacted with a lot of the very same people. You don't understand why you have to interact with A, B, or C individuals, who your parents are and why they're your parents, who your siblings are and why they're your siblings, who your friends are and why they're your friends. And the answer is because they need to be. They need to be, because if you've wronged them, or if they've been part of your network of growth, or if they were the ones who were charged with helping you to grow, or God forbid, bringing you down in previous existences, then they can't just vanish. They're a part of your success or failure. They are very much integral in you achieving your goals in this life. So God has to surround you with the right people, with the right environment. The right factors have to be in place in order for you to be able to achieve your goals. It wouldn't make any sense if after 120 years we came up to give an accounting and God said, Well, you wronged this person three lifetimes ago. Well, how am I supposed to make that good if that person isn't around me in this lifetime? I can't. So God obviously has to set up the situation, the grounds to make sure that they're fertile, to make sure that you have the ability to fix what you came here to fix. That's why you're faced with the challenges that you're faced with, but more importantly, that's also why you're faced with the environment, the money, the children, the parents, the community, the friends, the social network. All of that is by design. You think you're choosing it, my friends, but you're not. It is chosen for you, and it is designed to help you achieve greatness in this life. Divine providence not only determines the overall grand scale of our lives, but how our lives will be on a day to day and minute to minute scale. Hashem decides when we succeed and when we fail, when times are easy and when they're hard. He alone decides who will meet and what we'll do at any given moment. Divine judgments determine the outcome of every single minute in our lives. Let's leave it there, my friends. 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.