Psalm 23:6 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”
We love the verses in Psalm 23. They speak of peace, provision and safety.
But maybe one of the greatest battles of faith is believing that God’s mercy actually follows us, as it says in verse 6. Not just grace for salvation, or a clean slate once upon a time – but mercy for right now. For the mess I just made, or for the sin I didn’t expect to struggle with again. For the part of me that still feels like a failure.
Sometimes we slip into thinking, ‘Okay, this one’s on me. I need to fix this, and I need to make up for it.’ But Psalm 23 doesn’t say mercy leads us, it says it follows us. It’s not waiting on our perfect performance. It’s not holding back until we finally get it together.
It followed us all through our past, and now it walks with us in the present. God’s mercy covers what we thought disqualified us. It didn’t miss the moments we’re most ashamed of. It followed us there, right through that too. It will follow us all the way home.
Because Christ already walked the road ahead of us – entering into our brokenness, taking on our shame, and paying for our sins on the cross. He experienced rejection, suffering, and the weight of all our failures.
And so mercy follows us… because Jesus went first.
