"But it is you..."

Psalm 55:12-14

The theme of this passage can be summed up in one word: Betrayal. If you have never experienced a betrayal, I hope you never do. If you have suffered through a betrayal, know that you are not alone. This is a very difficult area for people to talk about sometimes, especially those of us that have been through a very personal betrayal. However, I am so thankful that even in the darkest hours of our life, we can find solace in the Bible.

In this passage, David is seeking retreat from the madness that is going on around him. David was extremely familiar with betrayal. This passage was written when David's life was being threatened by a powerful conspiracy in Jerusalem much like his own son's conspiracy against him described in 2 Samuel 15:1-12. Only this time David found himself up against a "companion" his "close friend". Not only was this person a friend, but their bond went even deeper. David had "once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng and the house of God." This wasn't just a friend at work or someone at school. This was someone that David shared the bond of worshiping God with publicly. A modern day example would be someone that was in David's Sunday school class or small group that he also went to lunch with after church. This was a close friendship and everyone knew about it which only made the pain much more intense.

Betrayal cuts very deeply. The wound cuts so deep that healing takes quite some time. It is one of those things that should not happen period, but definitely not in the church. Yet, so many times that is exactly where it happens. Church is supposed to be a safe haven, a retreat from the world. Yet so many times I find that it is not. I do not mean to beat up on the church because I truly love the body of Christ, but there are some things that we must confront head on in our lives and in the lives of those around us if we are to ever reach a dying world for Christ. We hear about terrible things that happen inside the walls of the church and yet we still wonder why lost people think they are no different from us.

Obviously, there are many different types of betrayal. The degrees can range from breaking a confidence to adultery. Although some are harder to move on from others, the pain is very similar and the relationship is never the same.

If you have gone through a betrayal in your life, let me say again that you are not alone. Our Lord and Savior is very familiar with how it feels to be betrayed. Turn to Him today and find understanding as well as the grace to forgive and heal.

Also, let us never forget that all of us are capable of committing any sin in our flesh. We see example after example in scripture of men and women that walked with God and at some point fell away committing many sins of the flesh along the way. May we walk so closely with Him that we would never be the cause of another's pain, especially a "man like myself".