Yesterday, I preached a message from I Samuel 23 on "What Do You Do When You Are Stabbed In The Back?"  In the text, David is asked by the citizens of Keilah to  come and help them fight the Philistines.  David asked the Lord if he should go?  The Lord tells David he should go. So, David goes to Keilah & helps them defeat the Philistines. 
      Ok, so far so good.
      But, after the battle is over, David learns that Saul is coming to capture him.  David asks the Lord if the people of Keilah will turn him over to Saul?  The Lord tells David they will. 
      So, he has helped these people and now, they are going to stab him in the back and turn him over to Saul.  A great way to show your appreciation, right?  Not! 
      So. David is stabbed in the back.  Many of us, unfortunately, have had that experience.  So, what do you when you are stabbed in the back?
       We Do The Right Thing.
      We have this idea that if we are doing the right thing we will not be hurt.  But that's not true.  David went to Keilah under the direction  of God and was still stabbed in the back!  You can be betrayed, criticized, ridiculed.. etc.. working for the Lord.  I know, it doesn't make sense, but it definitely happens.  And here is the kicker; many time it's other Christians who do the stabbing!  Yet, even though it may be hard to do, even when we may be stabbed in the back, we should try to do the right thing.
      Don't Get Bitter.
      Now this is easier preached than done.    It is normal for us to get angry if we are stabbed in the back.  I mean, it would be very difficult, when stabbed in the back, if we said 'Thank you, buddy for stabbing me in the back!" 
       No, we won't do that. But, when it happens, we are hurt and we can become  bitter. 
       It's not wrong to BE bitter; it's wrong to STAY bitter.  If you are hurt, the natural reaction is bitterness.  But, with the Lord's help we don't need to remain bitter.
      Two little boys got into an argument.  The mother noticed that after the argument they didn't speak to one another the rest of the day.  She sat down with one of the boys and said "The Bible says don't let the sun go down on your anger."  The little boy replied, "Mom, can we keep the sun from going down?"
       He kind of missed the point! 
       Trust the Lord.
       After David was stabbed in the back, the Bible says he left Keilah.  He could have easily called the leaders of the town together, looked them in eye and said "You guys are skum!  I helped you defeat the Philistines yet, you sold me out!  You stabbed me in the back!"
       Instead, David just left. 
       When you are stabbed in the back, you want to  get revenge.  We might think "God, zap em!  I mean, bring it down on 'em God!  Bar-b-que 'em!" 
        But, what we should do is leave that in the hands of God.  Trust the Lord. 
        When we are stabbed in the back, we have a tendency to withdraw.  We don't want to deal with people. 
        I read this poem several years ago.  It speaks to the importance of loving people.. regardless of their response.

"People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered,
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will false friends and true enemies,
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today Will be forgotten tomorrow
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable
Be honest and frank anyway
The biggest person with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest person with the smallest mind
Think big anyway
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway
People really need help but may attack you if you help them
Help people anyway
Give the world the best you have and you might get kicked in the teeth
Give the world the best you've got anyway`

         If you work with people in any capacity there is a chance that, at some point in your life, you will be stabbed in the back.  But Jesus never betrays us.  When you are stabbed in the back, ask the Lord to help you move on.