“What do you want to eat today,” my mom asked. “And where do you want to go this weekend to play?” After I was born, my mother left her job and devoted her time to taking care of our family. Moreover, my father and his best friend ran a successful motor company that earned enough money to support our family, so it was not a problem for us to live comfortably without my mother’s income. Our life seemed happy and complete, but there was a coming crisis that was hidden from view in our comfortable family life.

After the Spring Festival of 2001, while our family was still filled with a sense of festivity, the upheaval that had been stalking my family finally arrived. My classmates and I were still on spring break from school, and so my father asked me to join him as he went to work to prepare for the day’s business. When we arrived, everything looked different. The front door was closed, and we could see that no one was in the building. Even more shocking was that the parking lot was empty. All of the cars that my father sold for his business had suddenly vanished!

My father immediately took out the cellphone and called his partner. “Hi, brother, why is the company closed?” my father asked. “The company is bankrupt,” the man said. “This is impossible! Where are the cars? Where is the money?” my father roared. “I don’t know” said his partner and abruptly hung up the phone. After calling some of the other employees, my father understood what had happened — His best friend had sold the company and took all the money. Because my father was a partner, all the savings of my family were invested in the company, and suddenly, my family’s security collapsed.

For the first few days, my father couldn’t accept what had happened, and he did nothing but drink and sleep all day. My mother cried every day, even when sleeping at night. As for me, I was in a complete daze hiding in the corner of my room every day. But we all knew that despite the tragedy that had overtaken us, our lives had to continue. And so, about a month later, my mother said to my father who was still in bed, “We’ve spent all the remaining money, and now I have no money to buy food.” After a few seconds of silence, my father said, “I know, and now it’s time for these dark days to come to an end.”

I came to realize that there is always a ray of hope for people in desperation. The next day, I heard my father go out early in the morning. I was surprised, and I had no idea where he would go. My mother and I were anxiously waiting for his return, and in the evening, he came home with some money in his hands. “I found a job as a driver for an old friend, and this is the first month wages,” my father said excitedly. My mother started to sob uncontrollably and was deeply moved by my father’s revival. From that time on, my mother had new hope, and she did her part for the family by knitting sweaters for babies and children, and then sold them on the street in the evening. I became happy once again and began to study much harder in order to reassure my parents that we were all working together to make our family better and stronger.

As I look back, I came to realize that this family upheaval changed my destiny. The crisis turned out to be a good thing for all of us, and I was fortunate to experience it early in my teen years. It taught me many valuable lessons, such as how to face setbacks and adapt to sudden difficult circumstances. It taught me the responsibility of a man, a husband, and a father. And, it taught me that even those whom we consider to be our best friends can betray us, and therefore, I need to choose my friends wisely. Our family upheaval brought unexpected blessings, as it helped to shape me into the person that I am today.

Additional Comments – I suspect that at one time or another, we have all faced “upheavals,” whether in our work, our family, or in our personal lives. They are tough to go through, but as we look back, we probably see how those events have helped to shape us, as the cliché goes, making us either “bitter or better.” For my student, it was surely for the better because of the recovery of his father and the tenacity of the family pulling together to make life work.

One of the devasting aspects of the story was for the family to deal with the betrayal by the father’s best friend. Yes, we have all faced it, whether at our work or between friends or family members. We are all aware that even Jesus experienced betrayal at the hands of Judas Iscariot. And yet, in the Upper Room on the night in which He was betrayed, Jesus washed all of His disciples’ feet, yes, even the feet of Judas. He put into practice what he had taught them about “loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us” (Mt. 5:43-44).

But there is another story, not so well known, and it comes from the Old Testament. For many years, King David had a trusted friend and advisor named Ahithophel, but when David’s son Absalom attempted to take over the throne, Ahithophel joined Absalom. When betrayal comes, most of us try to retaliate by ridiculing and defaming our adversary. However, David took a different path. In Psalm 55, David laments, “If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself up against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked together with the throng to the house of God” (vss. 12-14). And then I love how David concludes this Psalm by encouraging all of us to, “Cast your cares upon the LORD, and He will sustain you (vs. 22).

And then from my former student’s story, there is the issue of maintaining “hope” when the future looks dark and “hopeless.” As with the issue of betrayal, I suspect that we have all been there. Once again, David has some great advice for us when the future looks bleak, or at least uncertain. I love what he says in Psalm 33, “A horse is a vain hope for deliverance, despite all of its strength, it cannot save. But the eyes of the Lord are on those who reverence Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love” (vss. 17-18).

When we desperately try our own solutions in an attempt to find peace when facing an uncertain future, we often find even more turmoil in our souls. Once again, Kind David gives us some great advice from his own experience, “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken (Ps. 33:5-6). And finally, David tells us that, “The LORD delights in those who reverence Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love” (Ps. 147:11).

Whether it is betrayal by a trusted friend or when facing an uncertain future, David discovered that casting his cares upon the Lord and placing his hope in Him was the answer, not only for God to reveal His solutions, but also for experiencing a peace that passes all understanding. May we learn this lesson, just as David did. God bless you.