He’s Good, All The Time!

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, September 14th, 2025:
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

---

​Psalm 78

R:  Do not forget the works of the Lord!

Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old. 

R:  Do not forget the works of the Lord!

When God killed them, the people sought for him; they repented and sought him earnestly. They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer. 

R:  Do not forget the works of the Lord!

But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues. Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not true to his covenant.

R:  Do not forget the works of the Lord!

Yet he, being compassionate, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them; often he restrained his anger, and did not stir up all his wrath.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Few things warm the heart more than watching loved ones step deeper into the faith. A new fire is lit in my very being when they approach me with questions, and my zeal is hard to contain as I witness the hand of God moving so strongly in their lives—an answered prayer coming to life.

Yet with all that joy comes a harder part of the journey—explaining the Old Testament. That’s usually where a lot of people peter out. “Why is God so awful”—or some variation of it—always comes up once they’ve made it a few chapters into Genesis.

When I try to help them navigate this tricky terrain, I often feel like a waiter at a fine restaurant, enticing my guest with a selection of top-shelf varieties. “Might I recommend one of the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John?” I’ll say warmly. “God’s character will be clearer when you learn about Jesus.”

“No thanks, I prefer to read a book from start to finish.”

Cue my evangelically-charged elevator pitch— “The Bible is not just any book, but a collection of books written over the span of 1500 years. A beautiful set of divinely inspired texts compiled by the Holy Church instituted by Christ Himself. History, poetry, law, wisdom, and prophecy—penned by around 40 authors across 3 continents. What unfolds is the grander story of how much God loves us.”

That big picture perspective is exactly what Scripture itself reminds us of. Psalm 78 describes our relationship with God through this cycle of events: The creature—always messin’ it up. The Creator—always there to clean up our mess. Always urging us to repentance, back home to Him to receive His mercy. And then us running away (repeatedly) from His embrace. And finally, God, being goodness itself—His mighty hand moved to deliver justice, yet still desiring to be intimately close to us.

If the Bible is the grand narrative, then our daily lives are the smaller chapters still being written—our own pages, our own stories of grace, each marked by His faithful works. 

Let us Pray: Lord, I thank You. You’ve done and continue to do amazing, incredible, wonderful, fantastical, outrageous, miraculous, beautiful things in my life. You deliver me from evil and lovingly lead me through sanctification—the Good Father that You are.

​With Your help, Holy Spirit, I pray I do not forget the works of the Lord—that I always remember His Merciful, Faithful and Loving character. Amen.






Vanessa Noujaim

---