Surely Goodness and Mercy shall follow

Goodness and Mercy are two of God's qualities, the extent of which, the human mind can't comprehend. Why should God love you and me so much that He is abundant in His goodness and mercy towards us? Honestly, I don't have the answer to that question, except for the fact that every time I think about it I'm jus awed and amazed at it!!!

How can one be sure of God's goodness and mercy? This question calls us to look into that whole psalm one more time. All the previous 5 verses provide us the hints to live a life in such a way that His goodness and mercy would follow us all thru our lives.

* When the Lord is our Shepherd and when we're walking in the path that He has laid for us,
* When we rest in His presence and be still and know that He is God and is in control,
* When we're on the paths of righteousness, on which He leads us,
* When we put our faith in Him, trusting that even though we walk thru dark times He is there with us,
* When we could see with eyes of Faith, His provision and blessing,

We can be sure that His goodness and mercy will follow us.

Did you read that again? It says, "Goodness and Mercy will FOLLOW us". Isn't that awesome? We need not run after His grace and mercy, but they FOLLOW us. If you haven't got the right difference between God's Grace and Mercy, here's a simple but profound explanation for it. "Grace is 'God GIVING us what we don't deserve' and Mercy is 'God NOT GIVING us what we really deserve'".

Why should His love, grace, kindness (which can be collectively called Goodness) and Mercy follow us? Here's the answer for the question ... When we confess our sins and turn to Jesus, still our past sins' guilt try to follow us and torment us. But that's where His grace and mercy shadow us like a wall between us and the guilt, reminding us that we're redeemed.

Is your life guided by the Good Shepherd, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Is He in control of all situations of your life? Have you found your confidence and rest in Him yet? Or are you still running after love, peace, happiness (God's Goodness) and mercy (to be forgiven, to be clean)?

It's still not too late to surrender your life to the Good Shepherd. Let Him take the steering wheel of your ship that's tossed by the rough waves of life and you can be assured of true joy and experience His Goodness and Mercy following you all the days of your life.

Have a blessed day!!!

Your friend,
Eshcol