“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

                                                                                                Psalm 23:6

The shepherd provides, he comforts, and finally he promises.  “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.”

“Surely”. It means, “I have no doubt.” I have NO doubt that the goodness and mercy of God - His grace and love and forgiveness, even when we’re walking through the valley and no matter where I go - I have NO doubt that He will be with me always.
 

“Follow me” here is literally translated as, “to pursue or to chase after.” That means God’s goodness and mercy chase after us every day of our lives.

-        It’s there every morning when I get up, and it’s there when I go to bed at night.

-        When I sin, there’s goodness and mercy waiting to forgive me.

-        When I am exhausted, there’s goodness and mercy ready to give me rest.

-        When I can’t see any hope, there’s goodness and mercy showing me God’s ready to pick me up and dust me off and let me try again.

What a thought! God is running after us, wanting to provide for us and protect us and make sure we have all we need.

It was God’s goodness and mercy that led Jesus to the Cross, where the Good Shepherd gave His life for His sheep. And He’s pursuing us right now in order to give us everything we need.

The final promise of this psalm is the greatest promise of all. “And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” I’ll settle into my new home, in that mansion with many rooms, where I’ll be with Jesus for all time. The shepherd will be there for us and with us, even beyond the end of time.

There are a few things I glean from this psalm.

First, to receive the promise of the psalm, you must become one of the shepherd’s sheep. Jesus said, “I am the good Shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.” Do you know the Shepherd?

Next, it is important that as His sheep we stay close to the Shepherd. The better a sheep knows his shepherd, the closer he stays. He rubs against his legs and waits for a pat on the head. Sheep that stay close to the shepherd reach the water first. Those next to the shepherd get to the sweetest grass first. And they are nearest to Him when fear is the highest.

Unfortunately, some of us like to stray. But remember, on those times that you stray He will pick you up and carry you across shoulders broad enough to carry a cross with all the sin of the world on it. “For you were straying like sheep but you have now returned to the Shepherd, where he will watch over your souls.”

We need to follow wherever our Good Shepherd leads. God has a plan for you and wants to lead you in paths of righteousness. Are you willing to follow Him and become one of His sheep?

“Father, Thank you for your promise and for being our shepherd. May we always be the sheep of your flock. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.”

Grace,

Rev. Dan