The difference between the service of the Creator and secular activities in regard to trust in GD may He be exalted is as follow.  In secular affairs, it has not been revealed to us which means are better or worse than other means or which are harmful or not harmful, for we do not know which profession is best for us and more worthwhile for securing a livelihood ( preserving) health and for general wellbeing nor do we know which business venture journey or other worldly pursuits will succeed when we try them.   It, therefore, follows that both in making a choice and implementing it, we must trust in GD that He will help us attain what is for our good.  We must apply ourselves diligently to our work and beseech Him to stir our hearts to choose what is good and proper for us.   pg 431

 A grandchild of the gaon Rav Simch Hakohen Rappaport the av beis din of Lublin, became deathly ill.  The mother begged her husband to allow her to travel to Lizhensk to ask Rebbe Elimelech for a berachah.    When she arrived, she gave the Rebbe a kvittel containing the sick man's name and the name of his mother.  Rebbe Elimelech told her that if she wished her son to recover, she must promise that once he regained his strength, he would come and be the Rebbe's guest for Shabbos.  If she would promise this he would guarantee that rav's recovery   She promised, and the Rebbe told her to go home and reassured her that the rav would indeed recover his health .. The Rebbe gave her a sign that this would come true... The events transpired exactly as Rebbe Elimelech had predicted.   When he had fully recovered, the rav traveled with his mother to Lizhensk to fulfill her promise, and they spent Shabbos with Rebbe Elimelech.  During the Sha...

 The holy brothers' Rebbe Elimelech and Rebbe Zisha were traveling together when they reached an inn.  Rebbe Zisha entered first while Rebbe Elimelech waited outside.  After waiting a long time, Rebbe Elimelech went in to see what was keeping his brother. Rebbe Zisha was standing inside watching a drunken peasant drinking hard liquor and dancing and making an utter fool of himself.  His wife was yelling at him that there was much work left to be done today.   "Stop this foolishness and come home."  "Come, wife", the peasant responded merrily.  "Come have a drink with me. Here just a sip" She refused.  "There is still much work to be done today. We must go"  After much bickering, the peasant managed to convince his wife to have a drink. Soon, she, too, was drinking and dancing Rebbe Zisha turned to his brother and said, "So is the way of the evil inclination. If you listen to him even a little, you end up running after him and dancing to ...

 If a person relies on GD in the very choice of serving Him and says, "I will neither choose nor resolve to do anything in the service of the Creator until He chooses for me what is best,"  he strays from the straight path and deviates from the right way.  For the Creator may He be exalted has already commanded us to choose the performance of His service and to direct our intent toward it with vigor, resolve, and wholehearted for the sake of His great Name, and He has instructed us that this is the right way for us in this world and the next.  If the means are available to us and we are able to carry out the work of service which we had previously chosen, we will receive bounteous reward for having chosen GD's service, for having intended to discharge it, and for having carried out its acts with our eternal limbs.  And if our limbs are unable to carry out the acts, we will receive reward for having chosen and intended to do them, as we mentioned earlier.  T...

Human actions that constitute either service of GD or transgression can take place only if three factors are present 1. Choice by the heart and mind 2. Intent and resolve to do what one has chosen, and 3. The effort to complete the intended act with one's outer limbs and bring it into actuality.   In regard to what is not hidden (or removed) from us, such as the choice of service or transgression and the intent and resolve to carry out what one has chosen, relying on GD in these would be erroneous and foolish, for the Creator may He be exalted has left to us the choice of serving Him or rebelling against Him as it is written "Choose life" (Devarim 30:19 )  But the carrying out of the intended act of service or transgression He did not leave to us but made it dependent on external means that are sometimes present and at other times unavailable  pg 427/429