Pursued
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” Psalm 23:6
The goodness of God is perhaps one of His most well-known attributes, and it is often mentioned in the Bible. The Hebrew word itself is used both in the sense of pleasantness or quality, and in the sense of moral goodness. It is the same word God used in Genesis 1, beholding His creation each evening, and proclaiming it good. But when applied to God, we know He is all that and more! He is so good, we finite, sinful beings cannot even begin to do Him justice. As the psalmist says,
“O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.” Psalm 34:8
But that’s not all! Another psalm proclaims,
“Thou art good, and doest good; teach me Thy statutes.” Psalm 119:68
It is not enough to say that God Himself is good, though He is, but He also does good things. That is what makes Him our Good Shepherd. He is not a hireling, as John 10 puts it, with no vested interest in the flock, but the flock’s own Shepherd. He not only owns us and provides for us, He loves us enough to be actively, intimately involved in our daily lives, doing good to secure our best good.
But that’s where we often stumble over the goodness of God. We see from the sheep’s perspective: close to the ground, focused on the bit of ground right under our noses, caring mostly for that which is pleasant, peaceful, and easy. But our Shepherd knows better. He knows when we need the still waters and green pastures, and when we need a trip down the valley of the shadow of death. He is more interested in our good than He is for our comfort, and will take us places we might not have wanted to go, in order to make us stronger, to give us the best spiritual nourishment for our souls.
Truly, He is the Good Shepherd!
And combined with this, we see God’s mercy. We often think of these two things as somewhat synonymous, but in reality, they are different. The word translated mercy here literally means kindness or favor, and is often translated lovingkindness, although sometimes it is also translated goodness. But mercy, kindness, favor, all point to the loving heart of our Shepherd. Psalm 117:1-2 exclaims,
“O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise Him, all ye people. For His merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise ye the Lord.”
No matter where we are or what we are facing, we can praise the Lord for His goodness and mercy toward us. In the midst of (wholly deserved) judgment on His erring people, God tells Isaiah to deliver this message:
“For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.” Isaiah 54:7-8
This is our Shepherd’s merciful heart. His perfect goodness and mercy work hand in hand, giving us what we need, rather than what we want, chastening where we need it, but all the while yearning over us with a heart of mercy, ready to gather us tightly in his arms, guarding us against the slightest bit more adversity or trial than will do us good.
The goodness and mercy of God don’t just sit there passively, waiting for us to come avail ourselves of them. The Hebrew word translated “follow” literally means to run after, with the idea of pursuit. Wherever we His sheep go, the Shepherd’s goodness and mercy chase after us, pursuing us like a faithful sheepdog, so agile, so focused, that we fluffy, scatterbrained sheep can never outrun or outmaneuver them.
It does not matter what we think of God’s goodness and mercy: they follow us anyway. We can complain or try to ignore them, but our Shepherd makes sure His goodness and mercy are never far from our heels. But sometimes we feel as if God’s goodness and mercy are foe rather than friend. The example that comes to mind is the chastening God brings when we are not right with Him. But notice what Hebrews 12:11 tells us:
“Now no chastening for the present seemeth joyous, but grievious: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them that are exercised thereby.”
God’s goodness and mercy follow us. They pursue us, sometimes trotting comfortably beside us, sometimes nipping at our heels when we are stubbornly going our own way. But as sheep of the perfect, faithful, good and merciful Shepherd, the presence of His constant, even aggressive goodness and mercy in our lives is indeed a blessed thing—but only when we acknowledge that they are from Him, and that His mercy waits, ready to receive us the moment whatever chastening or correction required is done.
Romans 8:28 is often viewed as an over-quoted verse, but repetition does not diminish its meaning. Read it slowly, and let its truth sink into your sheep-like heart:
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”
Are you a sheep of the Shepherd? Do you know His voice? Never let the trials and troubles of life shake your confidence that God is good and merciful. Stop running and let goodness and mercy overtake you. Yield to whatever God allows in your life, allow Him to work it together for good, and trust that in it all, His mercy pursues you just as hard as His goodness does.
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18