David writes in Psalm 23:6… 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
The word for “mercy” is “hesed.” That is a BIG word. It can be translated as a combination of “lovingkindness, loyal love, kindness, mercy, grace, compassion.” Hesed is one-way love. It’s a stubborn love. What you do does not affect someone’s hesed for you.
“Hesed” is what was shown to us by Jesus. Jesus stubbornly and sacrificially loved us! Not based on anything we could do for him.
Even when you walk away from him, he still has hesed for you!
David is saying, “goodness and hesed will follow him…” Not just a little bit. Not just while we “behave.” But for “all the days of my life”
Then David writes, “and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
You see… in Christ there is permanence.
A few years ago, my Washington Nationals beat the Brewers in the wildcard playoff baseball. I was in bed, with my covers over me, watching and cheering. They scored 3 runs in the 8th inning to pull ahead. Later on they won the World Series! All week, DC sports radio was been happy!
But here’s the thing… that happiness didn’t last! This year they are in LAST place.
That’s the same with all Earthly things… they don’t last! They are not permanent. But in Christ, there is permanence!
We are secure! Even when death comes, God will still be there with us.
I love what Pauls says in 2 Corinthians 4:16–18. “We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal”
Today, let’s not forget that God has hesed for you! And because of that, we can rest in the fact, that even as we age, our spirits are growing stronger.