Betrayal

Have you been betrayed? Was the betrayal by a family member? Was the betrayer a close friend of yours? Were you sold down the river by someone you trusted? Are you willing to trust God to use it for good?

There are times in our lives when we are betrayed. It may be as simple as a sibling telling Mom we ate a cookie before supper. It may be much more egregious. Perhaps someone relayed a secret you told them to the very person you told them not to.

Of course, there are many ways we may be betrayed. Betrayal seems to be a game played by those who live on the wrong side of the law. Yet those of us who are generally law-abiding citizens sometimes play this awful game as well. It is particularly played at betraying secrets, as mentioned above.

Being betrayed comes with many emotions. These may include anger, hate, disgust, shame, guilt, despair, and a desire for retribution. We want to repay evil for evil. Yet, that is not what we are taught to be good Christian principles, is it? In fact, we are specifically told not to do so, rather we are to repay evil with blessing (1 Peter 3:8). That is not easy to do.

However, if we do as we are instructed, and we trust that God works all things to the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28), we will see God’s blessing on us. In fact, we may even see God’s blessing to be as impactful as it was with Joseph.

You see, Joseph was betrayed by his brothers. They sold him into slavery. He was carted off to Egypt. While there, we see him betrayed again by the wife of his master. He is betrayed, yet again, by two men he is imprisoned with. But Joseph continues to hold onto his faith in God. Ultimately, Joseph becomes the second most powerful man in all of Egypt—second only to Pharoah.

We also see that God uses the betrayal of his brothers to position Joseph to save his family. Since Joseph interpreted Pharoah’s dreams, he was put in charge of preparing for the seven years of famine. When his brothers come to buy grain, Joseph is the one who sells it to them. Later, he has his entire family move to Egypt, where the grain is, and they are settled in the most fertile area of the country.

There is no guarantee God will bless any of us in the same way He blessed Joseph. Yet, I doubt any of us would like to go through the multiple betrayals Joseph went through either. However, we can rely on God to work for our good as long as we love Him.

I pray we all love God with all our heart. I pray we trust God to work for our good. I pray each of us repay evil with a blessing, as hard as that may be. Love God. Know He is working on your behalf. Trust God to bless you. Trust God to be just. Repay evil with blessing.

Genesis 37:28 So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.