Most of us know Psalms 23, or as many will say, the 23rd Psalm. There are six verses in this Psalm. Verse six says “Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Stop and let Grace find you. That is my message today.
With this Psalm, we are told that for those who choose the Lord as their shepherd, His goodness—His grace—will follow them forever. God wants believers to have His goodness and grace because He wants others to experience His goodness and grace through us.
Scripture tells us in 2 Chronicles 16:9, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”
So, the Lord’s eyes look for those whose hearts are loyal to Him. Because we are willing to make Him our shepherd, we know that goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives.
So, what does it mean that goodness and mercy shall follow us? I believe most of us think this verse is saying the Lord’s goodness will be on our lives for all our lives. That is probably a good way to view it. But if goodness and mercy are in our lives, we must give it to others to bless their lives.
Goodness and mercy are of no use if they are not given. They must be used towards others. If goodness and mercy are following us, it means we have stopped long enough to allow it to catch us. Because it has caught us, we share it wherever we are, in all things we do. Goodness and mercy will be the indication of where we have gone, no matter where we are at the moment.
I had a conversation like this with a good friend just recently. We found that when we extend grace towards others, goodness and mercy have followed our presence. Grace is God’s way of saying, “I will give you what you don’t deserve from Me so that you can give others what they don’t deserve from you.”
Grace teaches us that goodness and mercy are for others and never for ourselves. Grace teaches us that life is about helping more than being helped. Grace teaches us that forgiveness cannot be achieved when grace is not given. Grace teaches us that we cannot be selfish and receive goodness and mercy.
I could go on with this, but here is the simple truth. God gives us grace because He doesn’t want to punish us for every transgression against Him. He wants us to give grace because when we withhold grace we act selfishly. Grace is the way believers and nonbelievers can agree on at least one thing that is the same, and here it is.
So long as we live, we need the restorative healing and power of grace in our lives. Grace received says we should be thankful and perhaps change our ways. Grace given says we are thankful and have changed our ways.
So, stop running and let the goodness and mercy of God catch you so you learn the miraculous power of Grace. And let goodness and mercy follow you into the lives of others, especially into the lives of those who stand between your desire to live selfishly for yourself and selflessly for others.
When goodness and mercy follow you, the grace of God will find you and enrich your life.
Live a Delivered Life. Love you.
Live Delivered 