pKing David was having a sorry time. One of his closest friends was a guy called Ahithophel. David leant on him for advice when he needed it most. But when a rebellion happened, Ahithophel jumped ship (2 Samuel 15:12) and David was left stranded. Today’s psalm is his record of that rough time. ‘Even my best friend, the one I always told everything - he ate meals at my house all the time! - has bitten my hand’ (v. 9 MSG). That must have properly wrecked him. As his country was collapsing, he couldn’t even have a solid friendship to fall back on.br /
Betrayal is one of the hardest things to deal with because it shakes us to the core. We think, ‘If I can’t rely on them, who can I rely on?’ But today’s psalm shows us there’s a way to make it through even times like these. David saw it as an opportunity for God to prove He had his back. In fact, he was so sure it would happen that he called it beforehand: ‘By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.’ And he was right to trust God. The rebellion failed. God delighted in David, so of course He’d look after him when the time came. Ahithophel’s betrayal was an opportunity for David to strengthen his relationship with God. So how do you know that God’s got your back? Is it just an idea for you? Has it sunk from your head, into your heart yet?/p
pWhat now?br /
If you’re in a difficult time now, ask God to use it to strengthen His relationship with you. Write that prayer somewhere to come back to, when He fulfils it./p