Jason Silver

Saturday, November 7th, 2020

Will You Trust?

Back in the late 90s, I became a friend with someone who also provided ministry oversight at our church. We hung out together some afternoons, joked around with each other, got together with our wives a few times, and tried to be an encouragement to one another. I was initially cautious; (there was something just a little too political about him) but I tried to put that aside and be honest and sincere in our relationship.

After a few months, he was instrumental in having me removed from my position of ministry. He had been taking notes on things I said, then shared them with others, out of context from their original meaning.

What a betrayal! I thought we could trust one another. I thought that he was a safe person in whom to confide. It's still somewhat painful to remember.

So I can empathize with what David experienced. In this Psalm, King David tells us how difficult it was to experience the treachery of a friend. He sings of how trouble was brought upon him, and of the anguish he felt; oppression, fraud, enmity, torment, insolence. Oh, to escape it all! He longs for wings, to fly away into the wilderness, where he might find shelter from the raging winds of violence.

The Psalm offers peace to those who have experienced a similar offense: call upon God. Call upon Him morning and night, and pour out your heart to Him! As it says in verse 22:

22 Cast your burden on the Lord,
and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
the righteous to be moved.

Oh Lord, we lay our pain at your feet, asking you to save us, to pull us back from the brink, and to cause justice to be done in Your name. May our last words agree with King David's last words here: "but I TRUST in YOU."

Lord, we trust.

Amen.