Goodness and Lovingkindness

Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalm 23:6

My silly Basset Hound loves her walk each evening. On these walks, amid basset antics, floppy ears, and God’s glorious creation, the words from Psalm 23:6 often echo in my mind. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life. Do you hear the love and comfort in these words? No matter the joys or sorrows that might fill my heart on an evening walk, the sheer happiness of the silly Basset and the glory of God’s creation bring this passage to mind, always reminding me that God’s goodness and lovingkindness follow me whatever the circumstances.

Have you ever really thought about what it means to be followed by God’s goodness and lovingkindness? As Christians, we seek to follow Jesus. We are followers. Indeed, this is true. But this passage implies that God also follows us.

In The Good Shepherd, Kenneth Bailey connects this verse with a typical shepherd leading his flock of sheep home. Bailey points out that, since sheep know their way home, a shepherd typically follows from behind to guard against predators, especially to protect the young, sick, or weak in the flock.[1] The Good Shepherd follows the sheep.

As we reflect on this idea, two points stand out. First, for goodness and lovingkindness to follow us, we must be moving. Throughout Scripture, God calls his people toward movement. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus calls the disciples to “go therefore and make disciples.” This invitation toward movement does not occur in a vacuum. Repeatedly, the Hebrew Scriptures highlight God’s call toward movement. In Genesis 12:1, God calls Abram to go forth, away from his family and country. In Exodus, God calls the Israelites out from Egypt and into a forty-year pilgrimage in the desert. In this a dry and thirsty land, the Israelites slowly re-learn how to trust in God’s perfect provision. God calls Jonah to Nineveh, a foreign nation primed to hear of God’s lovingkindness and redemption. Can you think of other stories of biblical movement? Without movement, the sheep become stagnate and unhealthy. The Good Shepherd invites us to go and make disciples…and goodness and lovingkindness will follow us. How is God calling you toward movement?

Second, the Good Shepherd cares for and values the vulnerable and the weak…the lambs, the pregnant, the injured, the old, the sick, the mourners, and the downtrodden. The Good Shepherd sees those the world often overlooks. Even more, the Good Shepherd is glorified through the vulnerable and weak because they most depend on Him. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul shares the reality of his own vulnerability, his thorn in the flesh. He prays that God might remove his burden. How many times have you prayed for God to remove a thorn in your flesh… your illness, your loss, your weakness? Sometimes the Lord allows for this thorn by responding, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness” (vs. 9). In other words, God allows this thorn in the flesh because God’s power is made perfect in weakness. The Good Shepherd uses our brokenness and weakness to show His amazing glory.

This final passage of Psalm 23 reminds us that God surrounds us with Himself. As we follow Him, He also follows us. This means that right here and now, as we move forward following Him, we dwell in the house of the LORD. He is before us and behind us. We can rest. We can trust. We can worship the Good Shepherd who cares for us. And as we do this, surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow us all the days of our lives, and we will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

[1] Kenneth E. Bailey, The Good Shepherd: A Thousand-Year Journey From Psalm 23 to the New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014), 60-62.