When You're Lost: 7

As a person surveys her life she will see that there have been many days which seem to have been with no purpose. Most of her life seems to be constantly switching between days of inspired action and times of sluggish inaction.

Those days which seem to be purposeless are days of Emunah. These are the times that a person must accept that she has a reason for being alive, even if she does not understand why. At the end of the life of Avraham Avinu the Torah tells us ואברהם זקן בא בימים, and Avraham was old he came with his days. He came before Hashem even with those days that seemed to have no purpose. His Emunah told him they were with reason, even if he lacked any understanding. בימים (with his days) has the identical Gematria (numerical value) as אמונה (Emunah).

בנים (children) also shares the same Gematria. The entire existence of the Children of Israel relies on Emunah. The creation of the world was predicated on God's lusting to have a place to dwell below. A lust is not something that can be explained logically. It is what it is. Emunah is knowing this and thereby becoming one with Hashem.

When You're Lost: 4b

As people embark on a true relationship with Hashem they will find themselves entering into a state of desolation and constriction. Find themselves with no feeling and no understanding. All they have is Emunah. From there they need to instill deep into their souls the concept of Emunah such that even when things are going wonderfully for them they will retain an Emunah based relationship with Hashem.

This is why the experience of תחיית המתים, the resurrection of the dead, must precede the full consciousness of Hashem. Were a person to achieve that consciousness without dying first, he would assume that it somehow resulted from his efforts and studies during his lifetime. It is only by undergoing death previously that one can truly comprehend Emunah in Hashem.

This is why the epitome of Emunah was found at the Splitting of the Yam Suf. It could only come after they had completely given up and were no longer inspired and encouraged by anything that had come beforehand. This is why our Sages teaches us that in אז ישיר, the Song by the Sea there is an allusion to the ultimate resurrection of the dead. They both share the same elements.

When You're Lost: 1

Sometimes a person understands in his mind what is happening to him, or he may find understanding in his heart. But there are other times when a person feels devoid of any understanding or feeling. This is referred to in Kabbalistic terms as לית לה מגרמה כלום, she has nothing of her own. The person can only continue to exist by discovering help from outside himself, be receiving. In other words, he relies on, is supported by, is pulled by and drawn by something which he does not understand, feel or know. This is called Emunah.

Emunah is found when one is in a state of utter emptiness. Kabbalah refers to it as מלכות, Malchus. This state if the epitome of Creation.

If the person has any understanding or feeling about the situation then he is not in pure "receiving" mode. He is still inputting from himself. This state is only when a person feels completely empty of his own devices and has only Emunah to which he can cling.