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Apostasy is certainly a terrible thing. There is nothing worse than demeaning the Torah and abandoning Mitzvot, which form the foundation of Judaism. But if your perspective is that apostasy comes from people and serves no Divine purpose then you are not understanding its deeper significance. A fundamental concept of Kabbalistic thought is that hidden deep within everything is a great light. This is true even in the darkness of apostasy. This is a light that shines only in the darkest moments and is, consequently, the greatest light. The wave that has overcome the Nation as a whole is not in the minds and hearts of individuals, but is something that moves within the entire nation. Surely, anything that affects the entire people is destined to bring about a great tikkun (improvement). Therefore even though when faced with acts of disbelief we must reject them out of hand as they are terrible, they are darkness, they are ignorant, they are distant from purity, and there is nothing more upsetting, we should not refrain from viewing it with an outlook informed by holiness to see the light that can only sprout forth from this darkness. This is the necessary perspective for our times, to see the light of Moshiach that will sort out the light from the darkness, the sweet from the bitter.
To understand this light we will point out a few things. You can then figure out on your own how to apply these concepts further. First of all, it is a well known principle that before the arrival of a new mindset (מוחין) it is necessary to completely remove the previous one. The Ariza"l teaches that each night the mindset of the previous day is removed, in order to allow for a fresh new day. This occurs primarily at the end of the night when it is darkest. This occurs on a daily as well as yearly basis. One example of this occurred in times of Mordechai and Esther. This was a time of needing to recreate the relationship between God and the Jewish Nation (נסירה). The first step to doing that was creating a state of slumber (דורמיטא), which is why our Sages teach us that the Jews were asleep from Mitzva performance and therefore enjoyed the Feast of Achasverosh. The basis of all the apostasy of these times is the removal of the (מוחין) mindset of Exile in order to prepare for a new mindset of life in the Land of Israel.

Our Generation - The Ingathering of Exiles

The bringing of the spirit is the task of the current generation, the generation that follows the gathering of the exiles.The first generation had to focus on the external aspect of redemption, the gathering of the limbs and placing them side-by-side. This consisted of preparing the way for living together, the building of the Land of Israel and arranging the practicalities of life there. These are represented by the flesh and sinews growing on the bones. But at this stage the bones are still separate, and hence the people are still divided into different groups, and there are many areas of division. This is all a result of the lack of a spiritual basis which only comes in stage two. That will bring the body to life and combine the limbs into one entity. It will be accompanied by a purifying spirit of Teshuva which will uplift the entire people.
This generation is the time for the spiritual redemption which will infuse life into the entire people. This is as the Zohar teaches that in the future the secrets of the Torah will be revealed and they will lead Israel out of Exile. This is the light that burrows into each soul and reminds it that it is a cell in a body, and not merely an independent being. It inspires people to increase their connection to the Schechina, to feel as part of the Nation, and to act out of a sense of belonging, love and a deep sense of unity for the sake of unifying with Hashem and no other motives.
This is the cause of the deep thirst for Kabbalistic knowledge that exists in current times. It is a sign that the time has come for this era to come into being, the time of the spirit. The Zohar and related works are the spirit of Moshiach. They are the spirit that comes into the bones to give them one life, complete and fresh.

The Meaning of Exile

When Israel is exiled from its land it is death. This is expressed in Yechezkel's vision of the Dry Bones by the comparison of exile to a cemetery. Yirmiyahu also said "We have been placed in darkness like the eternal dead," on which the Midrash comments that Zion is like a dead person. Death takes a whole body and shreds it. Extending this metaphor to the Jewish people, exile is the state in which we are only living external lives, individual lives. We are no longer one body but ripped apart limbs, disparate parts scattered to the four corners of the earth. The Gaon of Vilna describes the long exile as a body slowly rotting from the outside in until there is nothing left whole.
The result of this is that each person serves Hashem in an external manner as well. And each person is focused only on himself. We lack the ability to view ourselves as our internal selves because of the shredding of the Nation. We view ourselves as independent entities looking out for our own good, both in this world and the World to Come. This self-centered view of Mitzvah observance is part of the curse of exile that results from the loss of an internal life which is only possible when we are reunited in our land. As the Zohar says, "'And who is like your nation Israel, one nation in the land,' they are only called One when in the land."