Dealing With A Betrayal

"Is there any human feeling more powerful than that of betrayal? Ask a high school girl whose boyfriend has dumped her for a pretty cheerleader. Or tune your radio to a country-western station and listen to the lyrics of infidelity. Or check out the murders reported in the daily newspaper, an amazing number of which trace back to a quarrel with an estranged lover." ~Philip Yancey

Have you already been betrayed before?

• Have you been dumped by your partner for another else?
• Have you been cheated by a friend you trusted?
• Have you been deceived by someone into believing something and hoping that he would help you, but turned out it was all for his selfish gain?
• Has your spouse started loving someone else over you, that it makes you burning in jealousy and anger?

 But, don't you know that there is a similar story in the Bible?

When the Lord first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, “Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the Lord and worshiping other gods.” ~Hosea 1:2

In this book, God showed how furious He was and how He mourned when his children turns to idols to worship!

“For this reason I will fence her in with thorn-bushes.
      I will block her path with a wall
      to make her lose her way.
 When she runs after her lovers,
      she won’t be able to catch them.
   She will search for them
      but not find them.
   Then she will think,
   ‘I might as well return to my husband,
      for I was better off with him than I am now.’
 She doesn’t realize it was I who gave her everything she has—
      the grain, the new wine, the olive oil;
   I even gave her silver and gold.
      But she gave all my gifts to Baal." ~Hosea 2:6-8

The "she " here pertains to God's children of whom offered sacrifices to "Baal", a lifeless sculpture of a graven image of a man. God's jealousy was showed here. After all, Exodus 20:2-5 clearly says:

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

 “You shall have no other gods before me.

 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me...

Imagine the feeling of being betrayed by a close friend, deceived by your partner, or deliberately being fooled by your spouse! Imagine that burning passion within you. Then, how much more God feels when we sin against Him!

As a matter of fact, "Baal" is not just a lifeless sculpture. It can be in the form of:

• relationships (boyfriend/girlfriend)
• career
• hobby or recreational activity
• achievements or success
• ministry

And the list goes on...
Have you noticed something from the list? Actually, "Baal" can be anything that replaces God in your heart!
Everything in the list above is not bad, in fact these are God's gifts or blessings to us. It becomes an idol or "Baal" the moment we desire them more than desiring to love and please God!

Have you asked yourself before, "Is God egocentric or selfish that He wants me to love Him first before anything else?" Now, let me give you a definite answer:


God wants us to love Him above every "thing" or every "one" else, because these "things" and these "ones" would eventually leave us - these are just temporary, like a flower quickly fading, like a wave tossed in the ocean, like a vapor in the wind. And God knows that if these have already departed us, we would be left unloved, alone, and hurting. But  God will never die, and He will never betray you because He loves you!

God loves you so much! Why? Because you are His greatest creation! And He yearns your love so much, if only you could let Him love you.

But you must first surrender everything to Him, leave your life of sins, and completely let Him be the center of your life. God cannot force anyone to love Him, but He is always eager and waiting for you to run to Him.

God the lover does not desire to share His bride with anyone else. Yet, amazingly, when Israel turned her back on God, He stuck with her. He was willing to suffer, in hope that someday she would return to Him.
Hosea, and later Jesus, prove that God longs not to punish but to love. In fact, He loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us! ~Philip Yancey

 In fact, Jesus Christ died on the cross to show His love for you! How? By receiving the punishment of death that we deserve because of our sins, but rising again on the third day - showing that He has already defeated death.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~Romans 6:23

And Revelations 3:20 describes Jesus waiting for you to respond to His love:

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

 The truth is, the world may betray you - even your closest friend can betray you, consciously or unconsciously, your career may someday fall into ruins, your achievements will someday be forgotten, and your good deeds will someday be like just a wilted flower. But God will never leave you nor betray you!

Make Jesus the center of your life, and for sure, you can withstand even the most painful betrayal of your life.

© 2011 Erickson Ibana