March 17, 2015 GOODNESS AND MERCY
Proverbs 23:6: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”
Such a declaration as we see in this verse, comes as a result of knowing God in an intimate way. David knew the sweetness of victory and he knew the depths of defeat, but no matter the circumstances, he knew the goodness of God. David had a heart to know God and God said that David “was a man after God’s own heart.” (Acts 13:22). As you read the Psalms and observe the life of David, it becomes evident that his trust was in God, and it was his first and foremost desire to know God and to be pleasing to Him. David knew for certain that he could be victorious in battle only if God was with him. David lived under the Old Covenant, and under the Old Covenant, believers did not have the blessing of the Holy Spirt living in them. Because the Holy Spirit of God lives in us, how much more should know the goodness of God than those living under the Old Covenant. We need to have as a bedrock of our belief about God that He is a God who desires to bless His people and that He is always good. However, if it is not our hearts desire to seek Him and to know Him, we may not be conscience of His goodness, and in one sense you could say that God hides Himself as we see in Jeremiah 29:13: “And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.” When one is not seeking to know God, life becomes unfulfilling, but even in such a time, God uses discontentment and difficult circumstances to draw us back to Himself. We should not make our determination of the goodness of God based on our circumstances because we know that all believers at times have to deal with unpleasant circumstances; in such times He gives us grace and strength to overcome the difficult times. God is always pursuing His people in order that He might express His love to those who belong to Him. Someone described “goodness and mercy” as the “hounds of heaven”-always tracking us down in order to bless us! We are in error if we think that we have to be good enough or do certain things to experience his goodness and mercy. It is God’s desire for us to learn of Him, to get to know Him for who He is, to enjoy fellowship with Him, and to know Him as our Father- a Father of unending love, mercy, compassion, and joy. There is a time coming when we will live in heaven with God and all the saints who have preceded us; however, we now have the presence of God in us and we have already been joined to Him and our eternal life with Him has already began. No matter our present circumstances, let us live with the knowledge deep within our hearts that God is our Father and that nothing can separate us from His love. And beware---the hounds of heaven are on your trail-and they never lose the trail!
Psalm 86:5: “For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call on you.”
Blessings,
Buddy
Proverbs 23:6: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”
Such a declaration as we see in this verse, comes as a result of knowing God in an intimate way. David knew the sweetness of victory and he knew the depths of defeat, but no matter the circumstances, he knew the goodness of God. David had a heart to know God and God said that David “was a man after God’s own heart.” (Acts 13:22). As you read the Psalms and observe the life of David, it becomes evident that his trust was in God, and it was his first and foremost desire to know God and to be pleasing to Him. David knew for certain that he could be victorious in battle only if God was with him. David lived under the Old Covenant, and under the Old Covenant, believers did not have the blessing of the Holy Spirt living in them. Because the Holy Spirit of God lives in us, how much more should know the goodness of God than those living under the Old Covenant. We need to have as a bedrock of our belief about God that He is a God who desires to bless His people and that He is always good. However, if it is not our hearts desire to seek Him and to know Him, we may not be conscience of His goodness, and in one sense you could say that God hides Himself as we see in Jeremiah 29:13: “And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.” When one is not seeking to know God, life becomes unfulfilling, but even in such a time, God uses discontentment and difficult circumstances to draw us back to Himself. We should not make our determination of the goodness of God based on our circumstances because we know that all believers at times have to deal with unpleasant circumstances; in such times He gives us grace and strength to overcome the difficult times. God is always pursuing His people in order that He might express His love to those who belong to Him. Someone described “goodness and mercy” as the “hounds of heaven”-always tracking us down in order to bless us! We are in error if we think that we have to be good enough or do certain things to experience his goodness and mercy. It is God’s desire for us to learn of Him, to get to know Him for who He is, to enjoy fellowship with Him, and to know Him as our Father- a Father of unending love, mercy, compassion, and joy. There is a time coming when we will live in heaven with God and all the saints who have preceded us; however, we now have the presence of God in us and we have already been joined to Him and our eternal life with Him has already began. No matter our present circumstances, let us live with the knowledge deep within our hearts that God is our Father and that nothing can separate us from His love. And beware---the hounds of heaven are on your trail-and they never lose the trail!
Psalm 86:5: “For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call on you.”
Blessings,
Buddy
RSS Feed