Hashem is the master of war, Hashem is His name. (Shemos 15:3)

I recall as a young boy watching people prepare for a simcha. And prepare. And continue to prepare. And then prepare some more. And somehow or other it seemed to me that things worked out in the end. As we mature and learn to focus on details, we find that many times fewer things worked out than we thought would. For instance, last week I was invited to the Bar Mitzvah of a close talmid’s son, to whom I told, “I will definitely be there and celebrate with you!” That was my plan until 45 minutes beforehand when I found out that there was a funeral at which my presence was required. I dashed in and out of the Bar Mitzvah, wished them a “mazel tov”, and apologized for not really taking part in the simcha as would have been proper. I know that the baal simcha would rather that I had stayed longer. This is an example of things that don’t work out exactly as planned.

Not everything is in our control.

There are other areas of life where we don’t plan, we just assume that things will happen as they should. For instance, we wake up in the morning and assume that we will feel OK to get up and have a productive day. If we don’t feel well, we wonder, “What happened? What is wrong with me?” It is as if it is a given that when a person wakes up, he will find himself in perfect health and ready to accomplish all his tasks.

One morning as one of my kids was struggling to get up, I asked myself as a passing thought, “How many people in the world went to sleep last night and did not merit to wake up in the morning?” I told my child that he should realize how fortunate he is that he was able to wake up, because thousands of people didn’t get up from their beds in the morning (according to World Population Review, over 1000 Americans a day don’t wake up from their sleep each morning). My child immediately jumped out of bed and said “Modeh ani” with vigor.

There are many people who follow news items such as elections, sporting events, etc. There are the “bookmakers” such as “Jimmy the Greek” who will forecast their predictions of upcoming events. The more volatile the situation, the greater the chance that people won’t take for granted that things will turn out the way they think. In these volatile situations, we take it as a given that we have to ask Hashem for His help.

However, the storekeeper who opens his door in the morning finds it is more difficult to daven in earnest that Hashem should send customers to his store: The customers seem to come every day, even without his davening.

Based on what Rav Moshe Feinstein writes on this verse, I want to suggest the following: when the odds are already in your favor, one is still just as obligated to daven for success as if the odds were not in your favor. This could possibly be the meaning of the words in the Song at the Sea, “Hashem ish milchama…” Our G-d, to whom we turn to in a time of uncertainty such as a time of war, “…Hashem Shemo” is the same G-d we should turn to with our various and sundry requests for everyday needs.

I believe at this time, as there is a great amount of uncertainty, people look to daven to Hashem. However, it is when things are going well and we still daven to Hashem with the same verve that we really show that we understand that we are always under His care.

May we merit to be among those who thank Hashem even when things go as expected.