February 10

Psalm 41
Can the Lord reach into my soul and heal me when I feel that I have been betrayed? This Psalm searches some of the limits of that question. David begins by blessing the one who considers the poor. Why would he do that? Often times David had fled those whom he had trusted. Often his flight was so sudden that he could not plan. He fled Saul without even a sword in his hand to defend himself against foes or predators. He had to depend upon the priest to give him the sword of Goliath. He fled Absalom without having made adequate provision for his army. He had to depend upon Barzillai for some of those provisions. Later David was betrayed by Sheba the son of Bichri. This time he called upon general Amasa to put down the rebellion. Amasa drug his feet taking his sweet time to assemble the troops. Joab had to sweep in and pick up the slack. David was familiar with betrayal which left him vulnerable and poor. He was grateful for those who helped him. Therefore, he blessed them.
Many of those times, those betrayals came from those who were closest to him. It was then that he experienced the greatest deprivation. It wasn’t just the economic deprivation; it was also emotional wasting. Jesus was no stranger to this kind of deprivation. As a matter of fact the New Testament writers quote verse 9 in reference to Judas. Jesus was also poor. The only thing of value that He owned was literally the cloak which He wore. This man in poverty had 12 close associates that traveled with Him for the majority of his ministry, about 3 years. One of those associates traded Him in for 30 pieces of silver, the price of a slave. Jesus, knowing full well what Judas was about to do, extended friendship to him right up unto the very end.
That is the glory of Jesus. He knows our betrayal. But He extends the offer of friendship to us right up until the very end. I can turn from my betrayal and receive His forgiveness, or I can reject it and receive His wrath. When I receive His forgiveness, He expects me to extend the same forgiveness to the poor, because we also were poor. Some will lift up their heel against us, but what else should we expect? If they treated our Lord and Master that way, then we should expect nothing less from some of them. How do you keep motivated? You focus on His glory when He did it. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John