Our Shepherd’s Persistent Promise

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…” Psalm 23:6

Those six words, “all the days of my life,” are powerful. 

It is easy to believe that God’s goodness and steadfast love are following you on the good days and in the mountaintop experiences of life. However, according to this promise of our shepherd, those are not the only times we see God’s goodness and mercy. They follow us all the days of our lives. 

That’s why this is a persistent promise. If someone is persistent, they refuse to let go or give up on something. A person who is persistent will keep asking until their questions are answered. This promise that goodness and mercy will follow us is a persistent promise because they will—not might, but will—follow us every single day of our lives. 

This means that, if you are in Christ, there is not a day, hour, minute, second, or single moment you are on this earth that these expressions of God’s character are not pursuing you. However, this doesn’t mean that your life will be easy or free of troubles. 

Just two verses earlier in Psalm 23, David wrote this: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (v. 4).

David writes this knowing that we will walk through trials and tribulations. God’s goodness and love are not shown in sparing us from difficulties; instead, we see them through the fact that God walks through the valley of the shadow of death with us. He will not abandon us or leave us to face these experiences on our own. Instead, our shepherd graciously walks alongside us, protecting, leading, and comforting us with His rod and staff. 

This is where, I believe, perhaps the most wonderful part of this promise lies. This means that even on the worst day of your life, God’s goodness and mercy are following you. Every day of your life, they are following after you. 

Now, God’s goodness and mercy are not necessarily seen in the trials themselves. Some things happen to us that are objectively not good. But we do see the Lord’s goodness and faithful love in God’s presence through the trial. 

It is perhaps even more so during these difficult times when we see God’s goodness and steadfast love more tangibly. We see this through: 

• A kind, handwritten card and a warm meal when your family suffers a loss. 
• The Lord graciously providing a job or some form of monetary support when you’re at the end of your rope. 
• The Lord’s presence and reassurance from His Word when you are crying out in desperation to God. 
• Him forgiving you and setting you on the right path when you make a mistake and think you have finally gone too far. 

Even when it doesn’t feel like God is present and you can’t see what He is doing, His goodness and steadfast love are following us. His goodness and mercy don’t leave us on some days, but they follow after us every moment of our lives.

Let us praise God for this persistent promise, because it is something we need every day of our lives.