THE FUTURE IS ASSURED
“Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:6.
Surely? David is making an assumption, but based on what? If this is what the past has taught me, then surely my future is assured. Past experience has shown me that I have a shepherd who has cared and provided for me throughout my life, rescued me from my own foolish ways, and brought me this far in safety. Surely, then, I can say that the same goodness and love that has followed me all my life will be there to take me home.
What is this goodness and love that has followed me all the days of my life? If we replace the word “goodness” with the word “functionality”, something amazing comes to light.
“And God saw all that he had made, and it was very good…” Genesis 1:31a.
“What did God mean when He said, “It was very good”? Was is pleasing to His eye? The Hebrew word tov is best translated as “functional” rather than “good”. God saw His creation as functioning properly, or, as we might say, working like a well-oiled machine.” (The Living Words Volume 1 by Jeff Benner, published 2007 by Virtualbookworm.com Publishing Inc, P O Box 9949, College Station, TX 77845, USA).
God’s creation worked. Everything functioned perfectly and interactively, revealing a God of perfect order and unity. Since God is good (functional), everything He made was functional because it reflected Him. It was Adam, through his disobedience, who introduced dysfuntionality, causing every part of the universe to go out of sync.
David learned through the course of his life that, when he submitted himself to the shepherd and walked in His ways, he became functional, all the circumstances of his life working together for his benefit. He also learned, to his dismay, that disobedience plunged him, his family and his kingdom back into dyfunctionality. Unfortunately, the consequences of disobedience were far-reaching, bringing dysfuntionality to generations after him which not even repentance could reverse.
Now let’s read this verse with new understanding:
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28.
And we know that God is using all the circumstances of those who love Him to restore them to functionality again because that’s His purpose. He wants us to live in harmony with Him and with each other just as His Son, Jesus did as a human being on earth. Since it is He determined goal make us functional again, He will dog our footsteps, day and night, with goodness to achieve what He has set out to do.
And what about love? The King James Version translates the word chesed as “mercy”. It is the mercy of God which He shows to us within a covenant bond in which He pledges His everlasting love. It is an unbreakable bond which has been sealed in blood. God has promised to do good to His covenant people always. His goodness and mercy are relentless companions wherever we go because He cannot and will not break His promise.
“I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.” Jeremiah 32:40.
In spite of Israel’s unfaithfulness, God pledged to do good to them within the covenant of His chesed, His loving kindness.
Because Yahweh, my shepherd’s goodness and love relentlessly pursue me, day after day in this life, I am assured that I will eventually be made to abide and remain forever, in His eternal day, in His name, which is a fortress of safety and protection.
Acknowledgement
Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.