Five Ways God’s Goodness Follows Us

Five Ways God’s Goodness Follows Us

I don’t see any good in this…..I wept the night I heard about my friend’s suffering. Her family was walking a long and dark path. How would they survive? I prayed in desperate hope that God would meet them in their pain. If “all your works are good…” how could you allow this? I thought aloud to God. 

In one of the most famous psalms we find this verse at the end: 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all of the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:6

How does God’s goodness and mercy follow us through all of our days? As I’ve walked this life there have been situations and circumstances that haven’t felt good. I’ve watched friends go through the unimaginable. You can’t imagine the pain because it is too much suffering. How is goodness found in such pain? 

I think we can look at Psalm 23 and find five ways God’s goodness follows us, even when life is filled with heartache. The truth of our world is that we will suffer. There will be shadows and death itself that come into our lives. Sin has permeated every aspect of this human experience. Even Jesus, the Son of God and the very Divine didn’t escape the effects of living in a sin filled world. We can expect suffering, but we do not need to dread it. There is hope and goodness, even in the midst of it. 

Jesus is Our Shepherd

The first truth is that God is our Shepherd. We are not alone. God’s loving hand is over all. He rules the heavens and orchestrates the events on earth. God has never left His throne, but He also cares for us like a shepherd. A shepherd cares and loves his sheep. He has deep affection for them. God says, I love you when he calls himself the shepherd. Our shepherd means He is personal and caring. We can know that goodness will follow us because Jesus is our shepherd. 

Jesus is Our Provider

The rest of that first verse says we will not want for anything. Do we want a pain-filled life? Of course! But God gives us what we need, sometimes not what we want. This verse is a reminder of the truth that no matter what we go through, we will always have our needs met. God is our great provider and we can trust that. We can know that goodness will follow us because Jesus is our provider. 

Jesus is Our Rest

The idea of still waters means we will have peace. We can lay down in rest. There won’t be a path that we walk that he hasn’t led us there. God is guiding and leading us. Yes, we wander off the path and make sinful choices, but God’s purpose and peace are not ever lost. We are never lost to God. He knows where we are and longs to bring us back to him. We can know that goodness will follow us because Jesus is our rest. 

Jesus is Our Protector

The shadow of death and evil and fear will assail us. We have established the fact that we will find ourselves in places we don’t want to be. There will be things in our life that we whisper….I didn’t sign up for this (link to book page). But God says He will be near us. He is our protector, like a Shepherd with a staff, he will keep the enemy from overcoming our hearts. Depression, anxiety, and heartache might crowd our minds but God’s care is stronger. We can know that goodness will follow us because Jesus is our protector. 

Jesus is Present

The promise at the end of this psalm is that heaven is waiting for us. I’ve said before, suffering is long but eternity is longer. Eternal life is waiting for us. The tears will be wiped away and we can find true rest and peace in the presence of God. We don’t have to wait to feel those things. We can turn to God and seek His presence even now. God is found in the pages of His word and lifting our hearts to prayer. His Spirit indwells us. We can know that goodness will follow us because Jesus is present. 

Which of these truths comforts your heart today? Do you need a Shepherd, a provider, rest, protection, or nearness? Jesus is all of these things. Draw near to Jesus today. 

Don’t forget to order my book, I Didn’t Sign Up for This . We can now see God’s goodness even when our stories shift.