Dealing with Betrayal - the Story of Joseph (part 5); THE PAIN IN BETRAYAL

It is important to realize when you are in the pit of betrayal that the pain that is associated with the act of betrayal often gets worse before it gets better.  That is what happened in the case of Joseph.  Some say that Joseph went from the pit to the palace where he would become the second most powerful man in all of Egypt and save the country and the surrounding regions from starvation due to a severe famine in the land – what a story!  But the truth is that his path from the pit to the palace was not a direct route.  From the pit, Joseph landed in the prison.  Due to being falsely accused, Joseph would spend some ten years in an Egyptian dungeon, never seeing the light of day.  That’s how the pain of betrayal works.  In most cases the pain gets worse before it gets better.

Why is it important for you to realize this?  It is crucial because what usually happens when you find yourself in the pit of betrayal is that you cry out to God for vindication, asking Him to take away the pain but then you discover that the pain gets worse.  It is at this point that many turn their back on God.  After preaching on this topic one Sunday recently, I met a man after the service who was one of the many first time guests we get at our church each week.  He shared with me that 25 years earlier he had been pushed into the pit of betrayal.  He did exactly what I just described.  He called out to God but the pain actually got worse.  As a result, he walked away from God.  That Sunday that he visited our church was the first time he had stepped foot back in any church in 25 years.  And what was I preaching on?  The pit of betrayal!  Now that is a "God-thing!"

When I found myself in the pit of betrayal, and the pain got continually worse, I prayed the same prayer over and over.  Every day I asked God for three things.  My prayer was that when my trial was all over, whenever that was and however it ended, that I would be more in love with Jesus than I was before finding myself in the pit of betrayal; that I would be more in love with wife than I was before finding myself in the pit of betrayal; and that I would be more in love with the local church than I was before finding myself in the pit of betrayal.  Even though the pain of that trial got much worse before it got better, by the grace of God the Lord answered all three of those prayers.  And for that I am most thankful!