Advice From Rabbi Nachman

            All physical medicines are bitter, and the same is true in the case of the soul. The soul is healed through bitterness. You may have to overcome many obstacles and endure much suffering in order for your soul to be healed. With physical illnesses there are times when the body becomes so weak that the invalid cannot bear the bitterness of the medicines. The doctors despair of ever curing him and simply abandon him. Similarly, when a person falls under the influence of sin -- which is the sickness of the soul -- he may be unable to bear the bitterness of the remedy. There may seem to be no hope for him at all. But God is filled with love. When He sees that a person wants to return to Him but hasn't the strength to bear the bitter remedies made necessary by his own sins, then He takes pity and casts all his sins aside to save him excessive suffering. God sends him only as much as he can bear. Many people find that as soon as they try to return to God and follow the ways of the righteous, they suddenly encounter obstacles and hardship from every direction. At times it is impossible to bear the bitterness and overcome the barriers. There have been cases where people were so discouraged that they fell back into their old ways, God forbid. But a person who truly desires to draw closer to God should have faith that whatever the bitterness or suffering he has to endure, everything is being sent to him out of love. If the suffering were really in proportion to the magnitude of his sins it would have been far greater. He would have been much too weak to bear it and he would have been totally lost. But God in His love only sends as much bitterness and suffering as a person can bear. This much he must bear, and it is certainly within his power to endure it (27:7). -Fram Azamra- Torah For Our Time