Betrayed But Not Broken

    I was reading the Word of God this morning and these two verses sat with me a while and insisted that I sit and think on them longer before I moved along.

The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.  - Psalm 55:21-22 

    Life often brings us into close contact with people who smile to our faces but wound us behind our backs. The pain of betrayal cuts pretty deep, doesn't it? Not only because of what is done, but more often than not, it's because of who has done it. 

    This chapter (like several others) is King David’s raw, honest outpouring of grief. He is not speaking of an enemy, but of a companion, someone he once trusted. The sting of deception wrapped in honeyed words is heartbreak at its most personal.  

    In verse 21, you can almost feel his heartbreak. He says the words of the one that hurt him were “smoother than butter” and “softer than oil,” yet every word concealed a weapon. These are not just poetic metaphors......they are emotional realities many of us have faced. Perhaps you’ve been there too? Misled by charm, confused by kindness, only to realize the affection was a mask.

    It’s a sobering reminder that not every soft-spoken person is kind, and not every friend is true. 

David’s pain is relatable 
because it mirrors 

our own experiences

 in a broken world.

Without any hesitation, verse 22 points us in a different direction: 

“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee…”

What a divine interruption! 

    In the middle of betrayal, God invites us to release the weight we carry. Not to ignore it, not to hide it, but to cast it.....to throw it fully, intentionally ... upon Him. 

The word “cast” implies a deliberate act, not a casual surrender. It’s what we do when the burden is too much to carry. 

And David assures us of God’s response: He will sustain you.

This is not a promise to fix every situation or erase every wound immediately. 

It’s better! 

    God promises to hold us up, to walk with us, to be the stability we need when the ground shakes beneath us. “He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” That doesn’t mean we won’t feel shaken. But it does mean we won’t fall apart - because God Himself is holding us together.  

This reminds us that betrayal doesn’t have to have the final word. 

Grief doesn’t disqualify us from grace. 

And pain, when surrendered, can lead us into a deeper trust in Him.

Are you carrying the sting of someone’s lies or living under the weight of an emotional burden?  

I want you to pause here and remember that you don’t have to carry it alone.

    God desires for you to cast that weight upon Him!

Not just in theory....but in prayer, in tears, in quiet surrender. And when you do, you will find not just relief, but a sustaining strength that doesn’t come from within.....but from the One who is always faithful.