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Pray
Ask God to orient or reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.
Read
Psalm 55:12-15
“12 If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide. 13 But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, 14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers. 15 Let death take my enemies by surprise; let them go down alive to the realm of the dead, for evil finds lodging among them.”
Understand
Once again we see David crying out to the Lord in his pain and fear. The unrest he finds under this circumstance now brings tremendous pain; he’s perplexed by the situation. Rather than run, he turns to God and voices his emotions.
David has been betrayed-not just by anyone, but by a trusted friend-and it has caused him great pain! David can’t understand how such a faithful companion could turn on him so completely. He could understand the situation if it were a known enemy he was facing, but this is one of his most trusted friends. David tells us that he has even joined with this man in “sweet fellowship” and worship of the Lord.
David wants justice to be given out, but he chooses to take his anger about the injustice to the Lord. He speaks honestly with God, telling Him about his fears, his pain, and his anger. He knows God is sovereign.
Apply
You and I know that nothing can hurt us more than the wounds of a friend. I can remember a time I was betrayed by another person in a prior work experience. I shared some frustrations I had, letting him know how exasperated I was with a situation. I opened up to this person and I trusted them to keep it to themselves.
Before the day was over, I was called into my boss’s office and berated over my frustrations I had just vocalized hours earlier to my friend. I was hurt deeply; I didn’t know how to respond. I was stunned that he would go straight to my boss and share what I had said. My emotions went from fear to anger to worry to shame and to sadness. I’d like to tell you that I responded like David and called out to the Lord, but I didn’t. I wanted to make things right on my own; I turned inward to myself instead of turning toward God.
I never plan to find myself in a situation like that again! If I do, though, I hope that I would respond like David and turn to God first. My hope is that I would be honest with my emotions and openly share with God all the feelings I am experiencing.
So what about you? Have you ever been betrayed by a friend? What was your first reaction?
What would God have you do?
Why don’t you pray to God right now…acknowledging His goodness and thanking Him for his grace and mercy?
Now ask Him to give you the strength to run towards Him with whatever challenge you’re facing. Trust Him with the situation and faithfully walk with Him today.
Live
(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today. KEEP PRAYING THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY.