“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Ps. 23:6).
When we follow after the Shepherd, notice what will follow after us – goodness and mercy. The word “goodness” in the broad sense means everything that possibly can be a blessing will follow you. And “goodness” in the short sense means pleasure, prosperity, and wealth.
Now notice the word surely. That word means you can count on it. So you can count on everything that’s a blessing coming your way. You can count on everything that brings pleasure, prosperity, and wealth following you. Surely it is coming to you; but allowing the Shepherd to lead you is the key.
Then there is mercy. None of us deserve mercy, but we sure do need it. Why do we need mercy to go with us? Well, because we do some dumb stuff – that’s why. We act like a heathen sometimes; we tell God we’re going to do it our way, not His way, and then we end up messing everything up.
But God is good and His mercy endures forever. He will have mercy on you as long as you breathe. Yes, you may have missed it, but mercy is there. God will give you His forgiveness and He will be your Shepherd even when you seem to not follow Him.
However, just like goodness, you can count on mercy being with you all the days of your life – even when you messed up.
Some of us have made a mess of things: our marriages, our money, our bodies, our families, and our friendships. I mean you may have messed up your life so much so that people have already written you off; they said you were finished.
But that’s not what God said about you, so don’t you say it.
Don’t accept that for your life. God is not finished with you yet. Your life, marriage, career, happiness is not over. Follow hard after Him – be precise in your pursuit. Don’t go your own way – allow the Shepherd to lead you.
Go to Him and say I am going to stop trying to lead this thing. I am going to stop trying to run my life. I recognize that I don’t know it all; the Holy Ghost knows all the details of my life. That’s how you dwell in His presence. Then goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life – you can count on it.
Scripture References: Psalm 107:1-8; 100:3-5
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Keith Butler has been an ordained minister since 1974. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds diplomas from Canada Christian College and Rhema Bible Training Center.
He serves in ministry with the support of his lovely wife, Pastor Deborah L. Butler, and their children: Pastor Andre Butler (granddaughters Alexis, Angela, and April), Pastor MiChelle Ferguson and husband Pastor Lee (grandson Lucas), and Minister Kristina Jenkins and husband Pastor Joel (grandsons Andrew and Austin, and granddaughter Alyssa).