“The Lord is my shepherd; He supplies all my needs. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. 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. You prepare a table for me in front of my enemies; You set me in place and heal me; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” – Psalm 23
Imagine this story: I have a friend who sometimes dog-sits her parents’ pet, a notorious little escape artist. He’s a master of waiting for the perfect moment and then…BAM, he’s gone.
There was an occasion when this furry Houdini managed to give her the slip. After an anxious search, he was found, and she had to confess to her parents that their beloved ‘baby’ had briefly gone missing.
After several months, she was asked to dog-sit again. She took the dog for a walk and, on returning home, just as the garage door was about to close, the little escape artist slid underneath and ran off. As she lifted the garage door to give chase, the dog was already several yards away, heading for a busy intersection.
Fearing the worst, she sprinted after him, all the while praying for help and shouting “STOP!” To her surprise and relief, the dog halted and trotted back as if nothing had happened. That’s when God spoke to her: “This is you. I just want to help you. Save you. Rescue you. And you keep running away.”
Most translations of Psalm 23 say, “goodness and mercy FOLLOW US”. But a more accurate interpretation could be “goodness and mercy CHASE AFTER US”. God isn’t waiting for us to seek help. He’s relentlessly pursuing us, so when we’re ready, He’s already there.
God is chasing you. You don’t need to run after Him or chase Him down. You just need to STOP and let Him catch you. When we stop running, He’s there.
Better yet, run TO Him. Many times, God says that if we seek Him with all our heart, He will allow Himself to be found by us.
GOODNESS AND MERCY – This is Him chasing us. Let Him catch you today.
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