Betrayal to Blessing

“If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers.”  Psalm 55:12-14

There is no hurt like the betrayal of a friend – someone you loved or completely trusted. I have seen the devastation of an unfaithful spouse and I have personally felt the pain of being stabbed in the back by someone I thought was a trusted friend. It is one thing to be deceived by an enemy; it is another thing to be disappointed by a friend. You can handle rejection by someone that hates you, but to be betrayed by someone who you thought loved you is totally different. That can destroy your self-esteem, your ability to trust other people, and your willingness to allow yourself to engage in any close personal relationship.

There is simply no greater human heartache in life, relationally speaking, than when someone you love, trust, and have opened yourself up to takes your legs out from under you, and sucks the air right out of you, by rejection or deception, or when someone goes from having your back to sticking a knife in it. In these situations, the worst thing you can do is to harbor your hurt, because harbored hurt becomes bitterness. Don’t ever think you have no one to talk to, because you can always talk to God. You can think nobody will understand, but God always understands. He is always available, He completely understands, He can be totally trusted, and He can always help. You never bother God. In fact, I think the only thing that bothers God is when we think we bother God. His shoulders are big enough to carry our hurts. His ears are sharp enough to hear our hurts; and His hands are strong enough to handle those hurts.

I want to remind you that God understands betrayal, because it happened to Him twice in two different gardens. In the Garden of Eden, the dew was still wet on the grass of creation when the first two people He created betrayed Him. Then, in the Garden of Gethsemane, the grass was wet from the blood-drops of sweat from the brow of the Son of God and one of His best friends betrayed Him. But out of both of those betrayals came a Savior, a Rescuer, and a Ruler who died on a cross and came back from the grave so that He can take any betrayal and turn it into a blessing.

Application: Have you been betrayed by a trusted friend? If so, are you harboring that hurt or have you turned it over to Jesus?