Lenten Rose, MN Landscape Arboretum April 11, 2024

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow be all the days of my life.” Psalm 23:6a NRSV

On sleepless nights, I often recite the 23rd Psalm. It’s message of comfort and reassurance calms my spirit, and allows me to rest in the assurance that I am held by one who loves and cares for me. There is a sense that whatever troubles or concerns are keeping me awake, can be trusted to my Shepherd God.

The psalmist writes “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, all the days of my life.” The word the Psalmist uses for follow is not simply following along, or trailing behind a person, but is an active pursuit. God’s love  is a pursuing love, drawing us to goodness and places of loving kindness.

This is the Shepherd who goes before us and leads us to places of Grace, places of rest, places where we will know love and compassion . . . Places where the mercy of God is shown through the care of others.

Gary V. Simpson writes, “The goodness of God is in every place before we ever arrive at any particular place. The good things that happen to us along life’s journey do not happen because we have arrived. God’s goodness has already been where we are planning to go. The goodness of God is so present that every direction that we turn to look, wherever we are, we bump into goodness again.” (Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 2, pg 440)

The psalmist understood God as one who shepherds us through all of life, wants what is good for us, and draws us to those places that are the very, very best for each of us. Should we wander afar, our Shepherd God will go in pursuit, drawing us back to the path which  leads to life.

“Indeed, goodness and mercy will pursue me
    all the days of my life.”  Psalm 23:6 NAB

Additional Devotional Material can be found at Meditations on Psalm 23