Surely, Goodness and Grace

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life...

The line before this one in the Psalm is "my cup overflows." What happens when a cup overflows? It drips liquid all over the ground. If we think of blessings overflowing our cup, then can we not see that as that cup overflows, blessings would spill out, and be scattered around us, following us in the guise of goodness and mercy. I like that image, of goodness and mercy trailing in our wake because of our overflowing blessings. It is an illustration of the idea of "blessed to be a blessing."

I think sometimes we fall into the comfort of believing that we can predict what is going to happen tomorrow. I think we are designed to find comfort in routine, and depending on routine helps to make life easier. There are times though, when we come to realize that we really have no way to predict what tomorrow will bring. One event, unexpected and unanticipated, can bring turmoil to our routines.

So what is it that we can depend upon? "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life...." Goodness is of God. Mercy is of God. We can know that whatever tomorrow will bring, goodness and mercy will follow us into the day, dripping from our overflowing cup. It will follow us all the days of our lives. We may not know how long that will be, but we know however long it is, God will be there, with his goodness and mercy.

Our youth, on their retreat, reinterpreted Psalm 23 artistically. One group designed a skit which depicted the Psalm. The poster above is the drawing of Goodness and mercy, except the kids called it Surely, Goodness and Grace. I can work with that! I think more than goodness and mercy following us, it also comes before us. It is prevenient, God chasing us, God preparing the way for us. It is grace, so it is appropriate to make the substitution.

Surely, Goodness and Grace will follow me, all the days of my life, especially tomorrow, whatever it may hold.

Image: JtM displaying Surely, Goodness and Grace, after its trip across the room to chase a sheep.