Daily Devotional

Novermber 13, 2007


Psalm 55

In Psalm 55 David has been betrayed by someone that he believed was his friend. Verse 13 states, “But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.” Therefore David is understandably distraught because of the backstabbing by his friend and the difficult situation he finds himself as a result.

 

What I would like to bring out of this chapter is David’s emotional anguish over the situation he had to deal with. David stated that he was mourning in his complaint, that his heart was sore pained, and that horror hath overwhelmed him among other things. David knew what it was to be under pressure and he knew what it was like to have to deal with the emotional drain that his work carried with it.

 

What I find interesting though is that David did not keep from God his emotional experiences. David does not let his emotions overtake him and cause him to do something foolish, but he does express vividly what he feels inside and God does not rebuke him for it. Remember that Christ also expressed his emotional distress to His father in the Garden of Gethsemane by asking if the cup of the cross could be taken away. Many times Christians believe that when they become part of the fold of Christianity that they must appear strong and resolute in every situation. This is not true. God fully expects us to experience the emotions that he placed inside us.

 

Here is the lesson to be taught. David would have never learned how to become the best kind of judge of people’s character if he had not experienced pain about a wrong assumption (the betrayal by a friend) and then learned from the situation. Furthermore, David learned what it meant to be a real friend and how true friends treat each other. There is always a purpose in everything that God sends our way, whether we are willing to learn from those experiences fall on our shoulders. Hopefully, we learn from all that God has to offer to us: both the pleasant and the ugly.