Friend or Foe?

Psalm 55:12-13 (New Living Translation)

 It is not an enemy who taunts me—

I could bear that.

It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me—

I could have hidden from them.

 Instead, it is you—my equal,

my companion and close friend.

David had enemies.  They would hunt him down.  He would hide out in caves.  You come to expect evil things from an enemy.  But, a friend?  Do you expect to be taunted by a friend?  David apparently had a friend who turned against him.  It's like the old saying, "If you have friends like that, then who needs an enemy." 

I am currently going through a situation with some family members where I have felt the hurt and the sting of their words.  And, I knew there were scriptures that made reference to being hurt by familiar people, not just your enemies.  I had just spoken yesterday about how I could have handled it better had it not been from someone close to me.  Then, last night, I read this scripture.  God sends us words, exactly when we need to hear them, if we only listen. 

Jesus knew what it was like to be wounded by a friend.  He felt the pain as Judas betrayed Him with a kiss.  When Jesus heard the rooster crow, He knew that Peter, his disciple and friend, had denied him.  Jesus suffered a horrible, physical death upon a cross.  But, the pain He must have felt when He was betrayed, denied, and seemingly left forsaken by God, his Father, just moments before He died, must have left Him with a broken heart. 

Jesus knows our hurt and pain.  He knows how it feels when our friends and enemies taunt us.  He knows because He has "been there, done that".  David knew what it was like, and he expressed those feelings in Psalms.  He would write about the pain he felt, but go on to worship and praise the Lord.  David trusted God to take care of him.  "But, I will call on God, and the Lord will rescue me."  (vs. 16)