Psalm 23:6, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” ESV
“Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.” NLT.
Think about how you treat a special guest that comes to your home. You prepare for it by tidying up your home, maybe buying something new in décor or kitchen items. You want everything to be just right so your guest feels welcome, enjoy the conversation and food, and feel you are sincerely interested in their well-being. Now transport this to the LORD, preparing our eternal home with Him. He will welcome each Christian as His special guest forever. According to Psalm 23 and Romans 8:28, everything for your good is being directed by God shall follow you, the ESV says, absolutely, [surely] “all the days of my life.” The NLT says, without a doubt, God’s goodness and unfailing love will “pursue” you, all the days of your life.
Our final day on this earth is known only by God. Psalm 96:2-3 NLT declares: “Sing to the LORD; praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.” Note that is present tense, not past tense, the word “does.” Think about the good things God has done for you recently. Write them down. I just looked at my prayer notebook. There was a date of April 3, 2024, I had written down two entries. It was the day before my husband Steve had his heart surgery and that was an important prayer request, and another item I had written that had to do with a serious conflict-relationship I had with someone. It has been now seven months since Steve’s heart surgery, which takes that long for the heart to heal. It was successful based on the recent tests done by the cardiologist surgeon, which he saw in his final test results for Steve, this past month. That burden of the relationship conflict situation has just been improved and has turned out in God’s direction for my good as Romans 8:28 promises. Then, I have a date of May 11, 2024, regarding a physical condition that has caused intense pain, with lack of mobility. I am just now seeing relief and healing during these past two weeks, going in a better direction (still in process) due to steady endurance with the right physical therapy and confirmed by my doctor of pain management, and prayers going up for me during this time. I praise the LORD and see His goodness, mercy, and unfailing love pursuing me during these challenging days in every prayer request, such as these and others I had recorded. I sometimes had little hope, yet I trusted in God’s power to answer each one, and He has and is still pursuing [my] our goodness all the days of our life. He is not done with us yet. Friend, He is not done with you yet either.
I encourage you to keep a journal of prayer requests and answers to prayers. I have gone a step further and have some of them written on 3X5 inch cards, when an answer is provided by the LORD, in a gift box on our mantel. I occasionally read each one of them to remind myself of God’s power in being my good Shepherd and Overseer of my soul (1 Peter 2:25) to protect me and guide me in this life. It will increase your faith in God’s goodness and love for you as it has done for me.
Revelation 7:17 states, “For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” NLT. You have a brighter future in store just for you of complete protection, relief, peace and joy. Tribulations and sorrows will be over. There will be no sin, and all suffering will be over finally with God in heaven. God, our great Shepherd promises to guide and protect you when going through dark valleys. Hold on. He will guide you along the right path for His glory.
Listen to Leanna Crawford, Ben Fuller, David Leonard – Still Waters (Psalm 23) [Accoustic] (Official Audio Video).