How do you stand against the betrayal? What’s the remedy for the pain? Do you bow your head and hide? Slink away in hopes that they will discover the truth one day? Or stand and fight with truth? Does anyone even care what the truth is anymore? Anyway, why is this happening to me?
The Story: Psalm 4
In Psalm 4, David cries out to God for help. He knows that his righteous God is the only One who can save him. He recounts what God did before and his need for Him to respond now. David desires to know when the actions of his enemies will end. Although his enemies deceived and lied, David knows that God is the answer. Despite how David feels about the situation, he knows that he’s accountable to God and can’t respond in anger. Therefore, he sets his heart on God and waits. He chooses to rest in joy and peace with confident trust in God.
The Lesson
We know we haven’t led a life of complete innocence. We failed and faltered, but why the betrayers. They were once people we trusted. Now what? Their attacks were unexpected and we’re left shocked and surprised. We inevitably pause for a moment and wonder, why me. For some reason, we expect that we will only receive what we put out. If we sow good, the only harvest we reap is good. In our minds, bad shouldn’t become our portion. However, we have to remember Job, who was a godly and upright man (Job 15-20). Yet, the betrayers came in the form of friends. At his lowest moment, they gave him accusations and ridicule instead of love and support. Fortunately, he recovered double from God (Job 42:10-17). Therefore, we will recover too.
David offers us guidance on how to recover from the betrayal.
- Feel the emotion but don’t act. Emotions are not evil for they are the thermostat for what’s happening on the inside of us. They are valid; yet, we can’t allow them to rule us. Whether sad or angry, we can’t rest in this place and become defined by the situation. Acknowledge how we feel about what happened and reset the temperature of our emotions.
- Keep our hearts clean. Acknowledge any role we may have played and repent. Ensure that our heart and motives remain pure before God.
- Offer the sacrifice of praise. By lifting up the name of the Lord, the matter loses its sting. We see the majesty of God and recall how we survived. We remember the wonderful God who brought us through before.
- Trust in God. Our God is never caught off guard. If He allowed it, then there’s a purpose. Our assignment is to trust even when our minds don’t understand.
So why me, we ask. Because God knows what’s needed to birth us into our purpose. Fortunately, He’s in it with us and has equipped us to handle the it.
