By Rev. Daniel Yaw 

‘Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,’  Psalm 23:6a
 
This is the last verse of the psalm that we have come to meditate and I hope by now you are falling in love with our great Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
With the Lunar New Year celebration, we are probably all filled with much joy in our different ways – the opportunity to be with family in a grander way, the joy of visiting friends and relatives, the joy of having a rest from the busyness of work and on top of all these the exchange of wonderful greetings that we hear.
 
And of course, the greatest of all greetings and blessings come from the Lord himself.  Today, as I look into part of verse 6, is the joy and amazement of God’s mercy and grace.  The month of March will also be the month when we look forward to remembering the Lord’s passion for the world in his death and resurrection.
 
I would call this part of the psalm “The Pursuing goodness of God.”
 
We know this popular song, “His Goodness is running after me.”  What does that song mean?  I believe it comes also in this verse – that His mercy and goodness shall follow me all the days of my life.
 
The Pursuing Goodness
The two elements used here are mercy and goodness.  Briefly explaining these two words, mercy is the idea that is complimentary or even opposite of justice.  In other words, instead of showing us justice, his mercy follows me.  Can you imagine what it would be like if God’s justice followed me all the days of my life?  Of late the politics and politicians of our country are emphasizing so much on justice and stamping out corruption.  If one is guilty, it must be stressful because justice is following him.
 
Think of that for a moment that we being sinners before God and God will pursue us with his justice, we will be left filled with fear all the days of our lives.
 
However, the psalmist says it is the mercy of God that is following us all the days of my life.  What joy that is to us!
 
The other word is goodness.  Goodness is the idea of God giving us what we don’t deserve.  It is kindness shown despite what we are and what we have done.  The thought is that all things that come from God are good and even if bad things happen to us, the goodness of God will shine through.
We can easily list down all the things that we do not want happening in our lives but they do come.  Yet the Lord’s goodness can and will be manifested if we trust in Him and follow Him.  That is His promise. 
 
These two elements run after us or follow us.  The picture that is used is that of sheepdogs that guard the sheep from straying and they run after them.  The names of these sheepdogs of God are mercy and goodness.
 
“With my life laid down, I'm surrendered now, I give You everything, Your goodness is running, it's running after me”
 
The Persistent Goodness
My attention also goes to the words, “surely” and “all the days of my life”.  This is the persistence of God’s goodness upon us.
 
There is certainty and security in these two words.  What more can we ask of God?  As I think of the reason, the answer is found on God’s part, never on my part.  It is his mercy and goodness that can cause this to happen.  If it had to depend on how I live, and who I am, then there is no longer any guarantee.  However, the surety and the persistence of being with us every day till the day I breathe my last breath is solely dependent on God.
 
So God’s goodness will not only run after me, but surely, and all the days of my life.
 
Conclusion
Let us run with our Lord and surrender to Him – only to follow Him in all that He asks and desires of us.  Surrender everything to him, all the good and all the “bad” as well.  May His mercy and goodness follow you all the days of your life.