How Can We Bear Watching Loved Ones Reject the Lord?

Psalm 55 can help us stand firm even when friends and family mock our faith.

In the last 15-20 years, many professing Christians have gone from the narrow path to the wide highway (Matthew 7:13-14). 

Because our culture has grown so wicked, many families are in distress as loved ones walk away from the Lord and reject friends and family members who remain faithful to God (Matthew 24:12-13).

In Psalm 55, David tells God that his thoughts trouble him and he wishes he could fly like a dove away from it all. He admits that the betrayal of loved ones is harder to bear than other types of betrayal.

He says, “If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it,” but instead, it is my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God.”

When someone close to us rejects God, it's a difficult pain to endure. David honestly shares his sorrow and even his anger regarding this type of betrayal. But he concludes with this important truth: 

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” 

Before it happened to me, I might have thought I couldn't handle watching several of my loved ones reject God and reject me. Instead, the tragedy of their decisions has taught me to cast my cares on the Lord, and I’ve learned that He truly can sustain me. 

With God’s help, these painful betrayals can strengthen our faith (Romans 8:28; 1 Peter 1:3-7).  

If you are experiencing this type of sorrow, I pray you will cast your cares on the Lord.

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For more comfort and encouragement, see Be Prepared: Persecution May Come from Family and  Why Some Folks Have Created a New Jesus. I also encourage you to check out the Bite Size Bible Study A Woman Who Said Goodbye to Her Faith. It tells the true story of a woman whom I knew personally who went from light to darkness. She was not one of my closest loved ones, but I cared about her, and I was surprised how clearly her life illustrated the things which draw people away from God. 

Psalm 55 can help us stand firm even when friends and family mock our faith.



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