Ever suffered a relationship gone sour? Or experienced a friendship extended, rejected and then shoved back in your face?
Of course you have. We all have. Perhaps your friend betrayed your trust after you’d deemed her safe, allowed yourself to trust her and let her into your heart. That’s what happened to David.
Take a few minutes and read 2 Samuel 15-18. King David’s son, Absalom, plotted to steal his father’s throne and recruited David’s close friend and trusted advisor, Ahithophel, to help him. Ahithophel spied on David while pretending to be his friend and secretly fed Absalom information to stoke the rebellion.
Ouch.
It became a full-blown conspiracy of multilayered deceit before the plot culminated in David fleeing the palace for his life, weeping over the betrayal of these two he’d loved. It’s believed that David wrote Psalm 55 during this time of grief.
Yep. The feelings David expresses in Psalm 55 sure sound like the way I’ve felt upon a friend’s betrayal, haven’t you?
“I am overwhelmed by my troubles,” (verse 2).
“Oh, that I had wings like a dove…I would fly away and rest,” (verse 6).
“It is not an enemy who taunts me—I could bear that…Instead it is you—my equal, my companion and close friend. What good fellowship we enjoyed as we walked together,” (verses 12-14).
Betrayal leaves raw wounds that take time to heal. The hurt is so heavy, it feels like it’ll crush us. We must mourn loss on several different planes at once, all of them difficult.
Have you been devastated by the festering, lingering wounds of a friend or family member’s betrayal? Are you ready to ask your heavenly Father for help?
Only the Great Healer can replace the anger, bitterness and regret of betrayal with forgiveness, redemption and hope. Ask Him. He’ll respond. After all, He knows firsthand what betrayal feels like.
