Psalm 23:6 says, ‘Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…’
Which sounds nice. Really nice.
But the Hebrew word translated ‘follow’ here (radaph), suggests a much more intensive verb.
More like chasing, pursuing, even hunting down.
Strong’s concordance calls it ‘purposeful, even covenantal, pursuit’.
Which sounds better yet.
The picture this evokes is less passive, more powerful, more determined.
Imagine the goodness and mercy of God chasing after His children every single day of their lives.
What Elder Patrick Kearon calls ‘relentless pursuit’ (God’s Intent is to Bring You Home, Apr 2024.)
The kind of pursuit that never tires or quits; never gets distracted or finds something better to do; just continues, day in and day out to seek out and bless, strengthen, heal and renew.
To breathe life into the places that feel dead and shine light into the darkness.
Knowing this, we can truly and fully give our hearts to Him and seek for the eyes to more quickly see that goodness and mercy manifested in our lives.
Because we can trust that it is there, running to us in a determined quest to bless our lives now and bring us home.
Goodness and mercy always racing after us, coming to help, coming to make things better, coming to transform us, simply coming to be there.
Overtaking us time and time again.
