“This isn’t the neighborhood bully mocking me—I could take that. This isn’t a foreign devil spitting invective—I could tune that out. It’s you! We grew up together! You! My best friend! Those long hours of leisure as we walked arm in arm, God a third party to our conversation.”
Psalm 55:12-14 MSG
We have all been there, right? That sinking feeling of realizing you have been betrayed by a person or a group of people that you thought, and they said, would never hurt you. Though, the experience for each of us has different faces, names and details, we can all relate to that gut wrenching pain that comes from betrayal.
The psalm above is more relatable than I care to share the details here. But I feel it in the inner most parts of my soul each time I read it. The initial hurt, denial, anger, pain and finally acceptance that I need to move on without them. That if there were to be a reconciliation, God would have to initiate it because my wounds were cut too deep to even consider it. It does not mean I have not forgiven them. It just means that their behavior created a boundary because trust had been violated at every level.
These are tough situations that are challenging to recover from. But God can restore your broken heart over betrayal and not restore that relationship, as well as give you a heart for accepting the situation and still not let anger, hurt and resentment control you.
God is not surprised by one thing going on in the world, as a whole, or our world as an individual. He knows and he relates to us. He endured betrayal that he knew would happen. Read about the betrayal of the leaders of the synagogue, his disciples (the accounts of Peter and Judas), the government leaders. All forms of betrayal yet it was that betrayal that helped assist Jesus’s prophetic purpose. Every part of what happened pushed heaven and earth to collide so we could have eternity back in reach if we would just believe.
Jesus endured the consequences of our sin, we get to embrace the result of Jesus’s sacrifice, liberty from the consequences of sin and death. Though our human counterparts may imperfectly step through our lives there is but one that will never leave you or betray you and that is Jesus.
The passage below is so rich in wisdom of how to handle our foes, the people we trusted at one time and betrayed us another, the people that swore to never hurt us or leave us but they did. Jesus, in all of his infinite knowledge and wisdom responds perfectly. He took what foolishness they threw at him and forced them to concede to the debate that they initiated. He refused to get caught up in conversations that led away from his plan and purpose. He flipped the script. Jesus moved on without them, He answered only to His Father in heaven. He knew that God’s voice was the only voice that mattered as He prepared Himself to face the cross. In the face of death, he took back all authority over sin and death and rose from the dead. He revealed himself long enough to give us some last instructions, while He went to prepare our home with Him, announcing that He will return for us.
All the haters are gonna hate but God is the only one who can save us.
Lord I pray that we learn who God is to us, who we are to Him and why that matters. I promise you that though people may disappoint and betray you, God never will. Amen.
“One day he was teaching the people in the Temple, proclaiming the Message. The high priests, religion scholars, and leaders confronted him and demanded, “Show us your credentials. Who authorized you to speak and act like this?”
Jesus answered, “First, let me ask you a question: About the baptism of John—who authorized it, heaven or humans?”
They were on the spot, and knew it. They pulled back into a huddle and whispered, “If we say ‘heaven,’ he’ll ask us why we didn’t believe him; if we say ‘humans,’ the people will tear us limb from limb, convinced as they are that John was God’s prophet.” They agreed to concede that round to Jesus and said they didn’t know.
Jesus said, “Then neither will I answer your question.””
Luke 20:1-8 MSG
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From the Depths of Kell 