12 For it is not an enemy who reproaches me,
Then I could bear it;
Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me,
Then I could hide myself from him.
13 But it is you, a man [i]my equal,
My companion and my [j]familiar friend;
14 We who had sweet [k]fellowship together
Walked in the house of God in the throng.
15 Let [l]death come deceitfully upon them;
Let them go down alive to [m]Sheol,
For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.16 As for me, I shall call upon God,
And the Lord will save me.
17 Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur,
And He will hear my voice.
18 He will redeem my soul in peace [n]from the battle which is against me,
For they are many who strive with me.
19 God will hear and [o]answer them—
Even the one who [p]sits enthroned from of old— Selah.
With whom there [q]is no change,
And who do not fear God.
20 He has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him;
He has [r]violated his covenant.
21 His [s]speech was smoother than butter,
But his heart was war;
His words were softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn swords.22 Cast [t]your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you;
He will never allow the righteous to [u]be shaken.
23 But You, O God, will bring them down to the [v]pit of destruction;
Men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days.
But I will trust in You.
Ouch, that hurts! This psalmist was experiencing the worst sort of betrayal. Someone he counted as a friend, someone who went to the temple with him, someone who looked like the best friend, this was now his enemy. This person who once promised the world, has now broken his word, and not only let down his friend, but is attacking many who had worked with him.
Now, I hope you have good friends, not psychopaths like this guy, but even good friends let us down. If we put our hope, our confidence, and our identity in who we have as friends, we are like the foolish man who built his house upon the sand. Our friends may not think quite like we do, and they have different priorities than us–it would be weird if they didn’t, and ultimately those might come into conflict.
But there is one friend who sticks closer than a brother, and there is one friend who cannot be shaken. Jesus know what we go through, he is “acquainted with our sorrows”. Though His priorities may not always match up with what we think they should be, they are always for our best, and we can trust him to be there even when no one else is.
So, as the psalmist learned to do, “cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you…” His faithfulness is the surest foundation, in Him we truly find our identity, we find out who we were always meant to be. Accept no shallow substitutes, but find your hope and your future in the one who holds you in his very hands.