For He has been good to me

September 17, 2025

From Pastor Joseph Wamack

Have you ever blown up a balloon, and you keep adding more and more air to it? It expands and stretches, to the point where you are afraid it might pop. It stretches and stretches until you don’t think it can take any more. There is so much pressure! Then you add a bit more air, then a bit more…waiting for the point where it goes POP!!!  And if it does pop, then there is the feeling of being startled, maybe even a bit frightened…but there is some relief. The stress, the fear of what might happen has been realized. That is the way you might feel sometimes, stretched, stressed and about ready to explode.

Our country went through some stressful times last week with shootings and the horrible anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. We really do live in a stressful, dangerous world. Across the world there are calamities and sorrows, tears, death and pain.

The Bible is full of sorrows and laments, crying out to God in the middle of life’s storms. David said in Psalm 13:1-2 “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts, and every day have sorrow in my heart?” I am sure you can relate to that today or at some point in your life. Where is God when things aren’t going well? Why do the wicked seem to triumph? These are big, very real, deep, deep questions.

And yet amazingly, we wonder, "How could David at the end of this same Psalm 13 say, “But I will trust in your unfailing love, my heart rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for He has been good to me?”

Is it possible to experience pain and sorrow, to lament and openly express these pains and feelings, and yet also trust God and sing to Him? According to Psalm 13 it is possible. This is why we need the goodness of God in our hearts and minds.

We live in a broken world. And yet we serve a risen Savior. He’s in the world today. We serve in the midst of this brokenness. We are living letters, born again, blood-bought believers, no better than anyone else, but walking, talking, serving, growing witnesses for our precious Jesus. In the midst of a world gone crazy, we are fortunate enough to reveal the character of Christ, to show evidence of the fruits of the Spirit and to do what we can to make the world a slightly better place. We can’t fix everything, but we can do something. Walk the journey of faith, trusting His Hand as you go.