“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me…” Psalm 23:6a
Psalm 23 beautifully pictures for us what a truly good shepherd looks like. In particular this Psalm details the perfect care of the Good Shepherd, that being God Himself who with power, patience, and love takes care of everything in the lives of those who belong to Him. As we consider “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me,” take a look at what Philip Keller (an actually shepherd) says about this grand conclusion to Psalm 23.
“The sheep with such a shepherd knows of a surety that his is a privileged position. No matter what comes, at least and always he can be perfectly sure that goodness and mercy will be in the picture. He reassures himself that he is ever under sound, sympathetic, intelligent ownership. What more need he care about? Goodness and mercy will be the treatment he receives from his mater’s expert, loving hands.”
“How many Christians actually feel this way about Christ? How many of us are truly concerned that no matter what occurs in our lives we are being followed by goodness and mercy? Of course it is very simple to speak this way when things are going well. If my health is excellent; my income is flourishing; my family is well; and my friends are fond of me it is not hard to say “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”
“But what about when one’s body breaks down? What do I say when I stand by helpless, as I have had to do, and watch a life partner die by degrees under appalling pain? What is my reaction when my job folds up and there is no money to meet bills? What happens if my children can’t make their grades in school or get caught running with the wrong gang? What do I say when suddenly without good grounds, friends prove false and turn against me?”
“…I realize that for the one who is truly in Christ’s care, no difficulty can arise, no dilemma emerge, no seeming disaster descend on the life without eventual good coming out of the chaos. This is to see the goodness and mercy of my Master in my life. It has become the great foundation of my faith and confidence in Him.” All quotes from A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller
Today the pandemic that has disrupted so many millions of lives gives us a great opportunity to look into God’s sure goodness and mercy; is it really following us during this quarantine? Thursday morning we will discuss this portion of Psalm 23 in relation to the difficulties in our lives. Please join me on Zoom at 9:30 by going to discoverybaptist.org and clicking on Ladies Bible Study. See you then!
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