Day 3 - Week 91 - Psalm 23:6 "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever."

I love what John Gill has to say about this verse, 

"Surely goodness and mercy..."

Either the free grace, love, favor and mercy of God in Christ, which endures continually, and is always the same from everlasting to everlasting; or the effects of it...which flow from the goodness and mercy of God, and not the merits of men; 

and which are in great mercy and loving kindness bestowed on his people, and which follow them: they do not anxiously seek after them; but seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness, these are added to them, they trusting in the Lord, and he caring for them:

or spiritual good things, which arise from the mere grace and mercy of God; such as the blessings of the covenant, the sure mercies of David, the discoveries and instances of the love of God, and the provisions of his house, which follow them, being undeserving of them;

and even when they have backslidden from the Lord, and in times of distress, when his grace is sufficient for them;

and of all this the psalmist had a comfortable assurance, depending upon the promise of God, arguing from the blessings he had already bestowed, and from the constant care he takes of his people, having in view his unchangeableness and faithfulness, the firmness of his covenant, and the irreversibleness of the blessings of it:

the words may be rendered "only goodness and mercy", nothing but mere mercy and kindness; for though afflictions do attend the children of God, yet these are in mercy and love; there is no fury in the Lord against them; there is nothing comes in wrath to them, throughout the whole course of their lives.

Do John Gill's words give you a greater sense of the goodness and mercy that follows God's children?  

No, life is not all bluebirds and rainbows, but His grace is sufficient for all of our times of distress.  His goodness and mercy truly do follow us all the days of our lives. 

I am thankful for all of God's provisions...but right now, I am very thankful for His goodness and His mercy.  

Day 2 - Week 91 - 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."

We're on the last verse of this most treasured chapter of Psalms.  Let's recite the chapter so far,

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside the still waters.  He restoreth my soul.  He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me, Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies, Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over.

And now,

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

It's easy to see why this chapter is one of everyone's favorites.  It is packed with comfort and assurance of who our God is...our loving Shepherd....guiding us along our entire pathway of life.  And then ending up with this sentence of ultimate assurance, with God as our Shepherd...

1.  Our days on earth are filled with goodness and mercy.  We are not promised lives without trouble, but when troubles come ---our days in the valley of the shadow of death--- we are promised that God always provides sufficient goodness and mercy to see us through those hard days.  Those are the days when His rod and staff are hemming us in and keeping us close and safe, staving off the enemy who may be trying to steal us away.  Our Shepherd is always with us.  His goodness and His mercies are always surrounding us and offered to us.

2.  We will dwell in His house forever.  That's the best part, isn't it?  No matter what our earthly path entails, we can look forward to forever in His house!  And what a glorious home that will be..."no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has known what God has prepared for those who love Him."  I think we aren't told any more about heaven because it is beyond what our words can describe.  We just cannot fathom what is in store for us when we live with our Father forever.  If the Bible did describe it to us, I don't think it would make sense to our human minds.  We will be in a place where there is no time, where our bodies will be in a new and glorified state allowing us unlimited abilities, things that we just can't get our earthly minds to perceive.  But what we are told let's us know that this is the place that God has prepared for us and this is the place that our souls long for and for which we were created.  This is the place that God desires all of us to reside for eternity.

Do you want to live there?
God has made a way....His name is Jesus!  He is the Way!  Accept Him - God is already preparing a place for you!