Acts of betrayal have the power to violate our sense of trust, dismantle our faith in God, and uproot life as we know it. Yet victims of even the worst betrayal can experience healing and discover a life of health and wholeness through Christ.
That’s according to Phil Waldrep, author and founder of Phil Waldrep Ministries.
“When people go through betrayal, one of the things that happens is their self-worth is shattered,” he said. “They feel hopeless, that this person did not value their relationship, friendship, or marriage, that the betrayer was able to do whatever they did without thinking about how it would have hurt them. They feel like their life is in a million pieces.”
“If you let God pick up the pieces and put them back together, His way and with His Word, healing is possible. It may take some time, but the other side is more beautiful than you could’ve imagined.”
The popular pastor and author speaks from experience. During a sit-down interview with The Christian Post, he shared how two decades ago, law enforcement officers surprised him at his office. Though the ministry was not its target, the investigation brought to light an employee’s unsavory activities, leaving Waldrep with no choice but confrontation.
“This was one of my closest friends, a guy I loved like a brother,” he recalled. “He was the one guy I would have said would be with me through thick and thin. But I found out he was doing a lot of very serious, immoral, unethical, although technically not illegal, behavior. I was shell shocked because he was riding on the back of the ministry to do a lot of that.”
After the initial confrontation, the employee was “broken, repentant, and acknowledged he had a problem,” Waldrep said. “So I decided to extend grace.”
Just a few months later, the man’s wife called Waldrep and informed him her husband had resumed his undesirable activities. Once again, the pastor confronted his friend. But this time, his reaction was different.
“He was defiant and unkind,” Waldrep said. “I was gracious, I think, to let him resign before I had to do anything. But when I look back, it left me emotionally and spiritually in shambles.”
“Oftentimes, in a deep betrayal, the person who got betrayed is the one who is left picking up the pieces. The betrayer, many times, walks away unscathed.”
SOURCE: Christian Post, Leah MarieAnn Klett
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