“If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship.” Psalm 55:12-13
It’s hard to take when it’s a friend who turns against you. David experienced this and so did Jesus. At such times we need to have a deep conviction that God is in control of the situation. We read, “Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands” (1 Samuel 23:14). The word “but” in this context is reassuring. God intervened. He is in control.
David writes, “He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support” (Psalm 18:17-18). Again it’s the Lord who intervened. This time strengthening and upholding David. Both these passages refer to the time when Saul was pursuing David and making his life very difficult. Both verses contain the word, but, telling us that God stepped in. He wouldn’t let David be defeated.
Knowing God is in control gives us the courage to keep going in tough situations even if it’s our close friends that turn against us, run us down or simply refuse to stand up for us. Out of his experiences with Saul, David was able to write “In God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 56:11).
May this be our testimony too.
