GOD Does the Lifting
Philippians 2:9 · 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)
David could handle enemies. He said so. What broke him was a friend.
"But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers" (Psalm 55:13-14).
The man who hurt him had stood beside him in worship. Many readers connect this psalm to Ahithophel, David's trusted counselor, who joined the revolt of David's son Absalom (2 Samuel 15:31). The psalm itself names no one. Anyone wounded from close range knows the voice.
David describes the friend's words. "His talk is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords" (Psalm 55:21).
Psalm 54 tells a similar story. The Ziphites who reported David's hiding place to Saul came from Judah, David's own tribe (1 Samuel 23:19). The harm came from inside the family.
Watch what David does with the wound. He tells GOD the whole truth about his fear. "My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught... The terrors of death have fallen on me. Fear and trembling have beset me" (Psalm 55:2-5).
He even wishes he could run. "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest" (Psalm 55:6).
GOD lets that prayer stand in Scripture. Fear does not mean faith has failed. David is praying the whole time. Paul says the Spirit meets us right there. "We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans" (Romans 8:26). When the mind will not settle, the Spirit prays.
Paul knew betrayal from close range too. He met the leaders of the church in Ephesus one last time and warned them with tears. "Savage wolves will come in among you... Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth" (Acts 20:29-30). Paul warned that danger could also come from within the church. Scripture does not excuse the betrayal of people entrusted to a leader’s care.
JESUS knew it best of all. Judas shared HIS table. In the garden Judas came with a crowd and a kiss. JESUS still addressed him as friend. "Do what you came for, friend." (Matthew 26:50).
How does a person carry that? Paul answers with a picture of JESUS. "In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant" (Philippians 2:5-7).
JESUS stepped down. HE went lower, all the way to a cross. Then comes the next word. "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place" (Philippians 2:9).
JESUS left the lifting to GOD.
Stephen lived this. Acts records him as the first follower of JESUS killed for his faith. Irenaeus, the second-century bishop of Lyon, wrote about him in Against Heresies III.12. He pointed to Stephen’s witness to the same GOD proclaimed by the apostles. Before the crowd stoned him, Stephen saw "the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:56). His last prayer was for the men killing him. "Lord, do not hold this sin against them" (Acts 7:60).
A news story this week carries a smaller echo. On Monday, October 5, the University of North Carolina announced Michael Jordan’s ten million dollar commitment to its School of Social Work. The gift honors his mother, Deloris Jordan, supports social work scholarships and programs serving families, and will give a research center her name. "My mother has always believed in the power of helping children, families and communities," he said, according to WUNC. The gift puts resources behind that care. Paul said it simply: "value others above yourselves" (Philippians 2:3).
That question belongs in our own work with families too. Does what we build help someone else carry less?
It does leave me thinking about how often I have tried to climb when HE asked me to kneel.
David ends Psalm 55 with an invitation. "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you" (Psalm 55:22). Peter repeats it: "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). To sustain is to carry someone through the weight. HE holds what we cannot.
The last line of the psalm belongs to everyone who has been hurt by a friend. "But as for me, I trust in you" (Psalm 55:23).
I am not here to prove myself. I am here to make HIM visible.
🙏 To the one who was wounded by a friend you once worshiped beside, GOD hears every word of that grief, and HE stays.
🙏 To the one who was hurt by a leader you trusted, GOD sees that wound. HE has not looked away.
🙏 To the one whose thoughts will not settle, the Spirit prays for you when your words run out.
🙏 To the one who is tired of climbing, you can step down. GOD does the lifting.
Grace and Peace.
Sources: Michael Jordan’s commitment, WUNC, October 5, 2026; Psalms 54–55, NIV; Philippians 2, NIV; 1 Peter 5:6–7, NIV; Matthew 26:50, NIV; Acts 7 and 20, NIV; Romans 8:26, NIV; Irenaeus, Against Heresies III.12. Scripture quotations: New International Version (NIV).