Archive article 37

“Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life . . . ”

                                                                                                                Psalm 23:6a

This penultimate phrase of Psalm 23, even as translated, here is very reassuring! To think that every day of my life will be lived under the tender gaze of my loving heavenly Father is a wonderful source of consolation. I don’t have to consult the horoscopes to find a way to avoid bad luck. I don’t have to carry a lucky charm in my pocket, wear one round my arm or neck, “cross-my-fingers”, touch wood or even make the sign of the cross as a way of hoping that my day will be my lucky day. This phrase is as clear as it is simple. God promises what He had already expressed in the first verse of the Psalm: “The Lord is my Shepherd: I’ll lack nothing”

The true meaning of the verb “follow” is, however, much stronger than the normal one we think of. Let me explain. When I take my dog to the park for a walk, he normally ‘follows’ me. However, if I go alone to the park and suddenly a dog comes bounding up to me and I turn and run, that dog is not just following me, he’s “pursuing me” – and that’s the real meaning here. That’s why David used this verb. There’s an entirely different motive communicated by the use of this verb. God is not just ‘following’ behind me, or monitoring my behaviour, He’s wanting me to feel and know His presence in a vital and life-giving way!

One of the times that I first felt the difference between these two verbs ‘follow’ and ‘pursue’ was when I discovered my first wife had a tumour in 1997. We were visiting the United States and on Thursday 14^th August she was taken into the emergency ward of the hospital. The first analyses on Friday showed a slow haemorrhage from the intestine but it was on the Saturday that the full gravity of the situation emerged as further tests clearly showed a large tumour stretching across the stomach area.

I’m sure that I would have gone into a total downward spin had it not been for the fact that very early that same morning, around 7:30 I had received a phone call from a pastor friend who said candidly: “Paul I was awake all night thinking about you. So I’m calling you to tell you not to worry about any of the details about getting back to New York. We’ll take care of everything. You just take care of Elaine. She’s your priority. Don’t worry about the logistics we’ll take care of that.” I put down the phone and just cried my heart out. Even before I knew what the situation might be I knew God was ahead of me – or in the words of this verse: “goodness and mercy were pursuing me”.

The story of my life from August 1997 until November 2001 when God lovingly called Elaine into His presence was not one of Him just “following” me. We were “pursued” by Him in such incredible ways that although the disease inexorably progressed, when Elaine was lifted into glory she had such a smile that although the tears poured from my eyes I knew we both had been deeply loved by a very tender Father. I had even begun to understand the magnificence of the phrase in Psalm 63:3 “Your loving kindness is better than life”.

Dear Reader, this promise is for everyone of us. We need never fear because; “Surely goodness and mercy will pursue us all the days of our lives. . .”

Pastor Paul Finch