Jesus modeled for us the perfect life, in all aspects, including friendship. If we look at His model, He had a few close friends that He did daily life with, and that He entrusted with certain aspects of His life. This did not stop Him from reaching out to others who were hurting or in need. He ate with them and spent time with them, but He looked only to our Father for His comfort and strength. He knew men would betray Him, especially those he held closest to him. Judas led the temple guards to capture Jesus whichin turn led to His torture and crucifixion. Jesus called Peter His Rock, and Peter denied knowing Jesus 3 times because he was afraid to share in Jesus suffering.
We hold high expectations of our friends. We entrust them with much and hope that they won't hurt us. When we are hurt, we hold on to it for such a long time, and vow not to trust so much the next time. We harden out hearts just a little.
We need to guard our hearts from the beginning....not harden, just entrust them to God and even hide them in Him. If we entrust our hearts to Him, He will keep them safe. He will soften the blows when they come. He gives us the power to forgive. We should cherish the close friends we have and be quick to forgive. If we expect that they will hurt us at some point, and try to find compassion for the reason behind the perceived betrayal, we can forgive, completely.
There have been times that I felt betrayed. In particular there was one time I felt rocked on my heels by betrayal. I was hurt and angry; it was the worst kind of betrayal. I trusted someone with something very personal and it was displayed out through gossip and came back to me in a very hurtful way. I prayed that God would show me some redeeming value in this person so that I could forgive. He has always been faithful for that. He showed me the things He loves about that person. Although I do not know that I would ever trust this person in the same capacity, I have forgiven, completely forgiven them. I actually blame myself for putting such faith in a person to begin with. That faith belongs to God alone.
God has shown me that sometimes its not right that we put such expectations on others. We hold out our broken hearts and expect them to heal us, and when they dont have the power to make us feel better or sometimes even worse, they scoff at our pain, we feel betrayed....but are we really? Is it their place to fix our brokenness? If they do not respond the way we feel they should, is it their response or our expectations that betray us? Jesus foretold Peter's betrayal. He expected it, and forgave Peter and through Jesus forgiveness, Peter was restored.
Be encouraged. Hide your heart in God. Allow Him to be your comfort and strength. He will not betray you. He loves you like no person can. He forgives and has boundless compassion for you. He understands your innermost thoughts, even how those thoughts were formed. He knows the hurts in our lives that have shaped us, and uses them to heal us through helping others. He makes them purposeful!
Give your Heart to God...Find good friends to spend time with.....Be a good friend to others!
