Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23:6
Surely This Can't Be For Me
David wrote Psalm 23 when he was older, looking back on his life. If you have read anything at all about David, you must have read about his many failures as well as his victories. Yes, he was the boy who killed Goliath. Yes, he was the shepherd boy who became a king. Yes, he was a man after God’s own heart. But he was also the man who took another man’s wife, Bathsheba, as he was off fighting a war. He was also the man that had her husband killed. David and Bathsheba had a baby together and that baby died. How do you get past these kinds of failures in life and be able to testify that you know surely God’s goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life?
The answer is that David believed something that we sometimes have a hard time believing. He knew that he was forgiven, set free, and redeemed. When he looked back at his life, David didn’t see his sin, he saw the goodness of God, over and over again in his life. He didn’t see the shame, the guilt, and the failures. Every wrong thing in his past was covered by the goodness and mercy of God. When we ask for forgiveness, God forgives us. And when He looks back on our lives, He doesn't see the sin that He has forgiven. He doesn't want us to live in that bondage. He freed us so He wants us to live free in His goodness.
When we don't deal with our feelings of guilt and we begin to believe the lies of shame, we can start to believe that there is no good thing that we deserve. The voices in our heads may sound more like Surely God wants nothing to do with me. Surely He is disappointed in all my failures. Surely He sees my continuous failed efforts to get myself together – only to have to continuously start over, sometimes from 3 steps back. Surely He can’t forgive me. Surely He would never pursue my heart or chase after me to have a relationship with Him. Surely He is not jealous for me. Surely I don’t deserve His love, mercy and goodness. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life? Surely that wasn’t meant for me.
You don’t have to live with shame and guilt following you, surrounding you, and suffocating you. The lies of Satan will keep you from believing what David believed - that you are redeemed, and that God plans for goodness and mercy for you all the days of your life. Yes, it was meant for you! He has been faithful and good to you already. The lens of shame and guilt cannot see the goodness of God in your life.
Surely God does want everything to do with you. Surely He picks you up every time you fail so you can try again. Surely He will forgive you if you ask. Surely He chases after you. Surely He is jealous for you. Surely you deserve His love, mercy and goodness. Surely His goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life. Surely that is meant for you because your Heavenly Father loves you.
