We've been going through Psalm 23 verse by verse. It's been awesome! But now we've reached the last verse. Sad face. :( Don't worry, another inspiring series is coming soon! Be sure to take a look at the first 5 parts if you missed them:
Now on to verse 6 of Psalm 23:
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
Forever.
This whole Psalm is about who God is, and what He does because of His love. It's not about what we do or don't do. This verse is the summation of the chapter, it encapsulates the themes of the rest of the chapter.
At one time or another, we've all felt far from God; separated from God. Sometimes despite the promises of scripture it is hard to feel that God is near. Maybe you even feel like that right now. Why do we feel that way? Because emotions are not truth. Emotions do not reflect reality. If you live your life based on emotions you will make a lot of mistakes. Feeling far from God is an emotion. Usually because we feel that we've failed. We think that God is ignoring us, that He's set up a wall between Him and us.
And when we feel close to God, we often think it's because we've been "good". We've succeeded, so now God will be near us again. Only on good days is God near.
Yet again, this is an emotion talking. Emotion lies. Here's what God says: Hebrews 13:8: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
And, Hebrews 13:5: For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
Who you are or are not does not change who Jesus is. Your failure does not cause the love of Jesus Christ to fail. Your success does not cause the love of Christ to grow. He is the same, regardless of what you do!
So often God is depicted as either extremely vengeful and angry, or else as an all-accepting hippie.
The truth is that sin has consequences that God will love you through. God loves you, but if you go play in traffic your chances of getting hit by a car go up quite a bit. God loves you, but if you choose to smoke, your chances of getting lung cancer go up considerably.
God loves you, and because of that He will call you out of the danger zone you're playing in to protect you from the consequences.
God's mercy and goodness follow you. Follow means "pursue", "hunt". God's goodness and mercy will track you down. He will find you no matter how much sin you've covered yourself in. No matter how far you run, God is always just one step away.
When you feel far from God, He's right there. When you feel close, He's always been close.
Dwelling in the house of God doesn't mean that you get to sleep in the dusty guest room or the broom closet. It means that you are a member of His family and you get to live in His house! There's always a place prepared for you, where you belong!
0 ,:
Post a Comment