Psalm
55 reminds me of the emotional devastation of divorce. I have heard
this same pain in the voice of someone that has had their trust
broken and then been falsely attacked by an attorney. The psalm
begins with a call of sheer desperation to God. “Listen
to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea… My thoughts trouble me
and I am distraught
at
the voice of the enemy“.
Marriage involves a level of intimacy beyond any other relationship.
The Bible describes it as “becoming one”. Divorce involves
tearing apart this oneness. David expresses the emotion clearly,
“they
bring down suffering upon me
and
revile me in their anger. My heart is in anguish within me“.
We
do not know who David is referring to in his psalm. It could be his
son Absalom, who tried to take David’s throne, or one of his chief
advisors that betrayed him. I believe the unknown identity is
intentional because we can more easily insert our own adversary.
Have you been deceived by someone close? The question becomes, how
do you recover?
David
poses an option that many take, “I
would flee far away… hurry to my place of shelter… far from the
tempest and storm“.
Someone once said, “The problem with running away is you have to
take yourself along”. Physical, mental, and psychological abuse
should never be tolerated, but the escape mode can become a
lifestyle. Once a trust has been broken, it is hard to trust again.
Notice that David wisely turns his frustration over to God, “Confuse
the wicked, O Lord, confound their speech“.
He also describes the difficult walk of fighting against a loved
one. “If
an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it… But it is you, a man
like myself, my companion, my close friend with whom
I
once enjoyed sweet fellowship“.
Holding on to bitterness will rot us from the inside-out.
The
psalm ends with David holding on to the God who does not change. He
places his trust in God alone. “But
I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning and noon I
cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.”
David will not be destroyed by the hatred of others, nor will he
hold on to it himself. He trusts God’s hand of protection, “He
ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me“.
David understands that it is “God,
who is enthroned forever“.
David shows compassion toward his friend, by asking God to change
their heart, or let them suffer the consequences of their rebellion.
We can be fooled by words, but God knows the heart of “men
who never change their ways and have no fear of God“.
David describes his foe, “His
speech is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart“.
I believe David prays for his adversary, “Cast
your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the
righteous fall“.
I have said many times, it is impossible to hate someone you are
praying for. Jesus told His followers something radical, “Love
your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate
you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
that
you may be sons of your Father in heaven”
(Matthew 5:44). Are you holding on to bitterness? You have to let
it go in order to hold on to something better.