Key Verse: Psalm 23:6 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Here at end of this wonderful Psalm David makes an astounding statement. He says that surely or only goodness and mercy will follow him all the days of his life. How can David say something like this? We’ve seen the end of David’s story. We have seen the wars he fought, the persecution he faced from Saul, the terrible sins involving Bathsheba he committed, and the betrayal and death of his son Absolom. It certainly did not appear that everything was good. What led David to say this? I believe that David makes this profound statement because after meditating on what it means to have God as his shepherd, he understands that God will always provide for him, guide him, protect him, and give him rest. Because of this David now sees that no matter what He is blessed. He knows that God is always working, and that His job is to trust God. Another reason David makes this statement is because of that which follows this statement. There he says, he will dwell in the house of God forever. He knows that no matter what God allows to happen to him in this life, he will dwell with God forever eternity. He trusts that the Lord is his shepherd. There are many of us today that are overwhelmed with anxiety, fear, and a host of other harmful emotions. We need to take a minute to reflect on all that we’ve learned God does for us as our shepherd. Instead of being ruled by our emotions, we must be ruled by the truth. The truth is that because God is our shepherd we are blessed. David learned this and brought him peace, hope, and faith in the darkest valleys of his life. We are blessed because we have a God who cares deeply for us, and is always at work in our life. Instead of focusing on how difficult life is, today choose to focus on how blessed you are because of God in your life. When you do this your entire perspective will change!
