“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” - Psalm 23:6

Our God doesn’t simply wait at the gates of Heaven, handing out goodness and mercy at the door to those who finally arrive.

We worship a humble King who left the kingdom behind to run after us in our brokenness—who met us on the road, arms open, embracing us with goodness and mercy that now follows us the rest of our way home. 

The companions of goodness and mercy are not waiting for us up ahead, but following us. “Following” in Hebrew—radaph—means to chase down and pursue. 

God’s covenant love is not something we’re going after; it’s what’s relentlessly running after us. It’s not defined by where we go. It’s running after you wherever you go. It’s undeserved. 

If we were the ones to chase down God’s love and abundant goodness, we would pointlessly be chasing something forever, never able to catch it. So, He has put it behind us. As we follow Him, it follows us—unearned, undeserved, and certain. 

It follows us all the days of our lives until we dwell in the house of our Lord forever. It pursues us relentlessly. Not just on the best days or the blessed days, but the ones where we have chased down shame and sin, or even when we are being followed by sickness and darkness. His goodness and mercy still follow.

We are not defined by the evil that pursues us, nor the sin we’ve pursued. We are defined by the shepherd we follow and His goodness and mercy that run after us every single day of our lives.