Be Brave When Betrayed – Psalm 54:When the Ziphites went and told Saul, “Is not David hiding among us?”

Which is harder to endure: betrayal by a friend or cruelty from strangers? It’s sometimes difficult to comprehend the amount of time that passes in a biblical account when we read chapter to chapter. Many experts believe David hid from Saul in the wilderness for up to seven years. During that time, David seems to find few hospitable Judeans willing to help him, his six hundred men, and their families. That’s a lot of house guests! David’s camp would require a lot of water, food, and facilities that most established villages didn’t have to spare. On top of all this, the Ziphites ran to Saul, telling him exactly where to find David’s encampment in 1 Samuel 26.

• Judah is a large territory, but it’s David’s ancestral tribe. Some are strangers, but some are surely known to David. What would be the most hurtful thing David endured during this seven years of hiding in the wilderness and repeated betrayal?

Whether you’ve been betrayed by a friend or endured undeserved cruelty from a stranger, the wound is deep and raw. It may take years—or even a lifetime—to heal properly. As David is teaching us, however, we can learn to say: But God….

In Psalm 54:1-3, we learn that David considers the Judeans who betrayed him as strangers. Heartbroken, he turns to the only One who can heal him from the inside out and asks specifically for four things:

1. Save me by Your Name – because David trusts the character revealed by God’s names.
2. Vindicate me by Your power – because only God can overcome the magnitude of adversity David is facing.
3. Hear my prayer – because only God knows the inner groanings of our silent pleading.
4. Give ear to the words of my mouth – because only God will listen to ALL my ranting when others get tired of hearing about my pain.

The most important aspect of this psalm for me came in 54:6-7 with the realization that David sacrificed a freewill offering—over and above what was required—BEFORE God had answered his prayer. While he still felt lousy, before he’d witnessed God’s retribution on those who had harmed him, David praised God because His past faithfulness proved his continuing goodness.

• Can you sacrifice to God today a freewill offering? Can you praise Him before He removes your burden? Can you trust His past faithfulness to sustain your future?