Psalm 23:6 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”

God’s sheepdogs. 

Several years ago, John spoke on Psalm 23:6, and in that message, he referred to goodness and mercy as God’s sheep dogs – sheep dogs that persistently follow after His children and simply won’t let them go.  At that moment, I was profoundly struck by that image.  Still am today. 

Often we find ourselves wandering away from God, and no doubt, we may in those moments not even desire to leave His side . . . but we do.  Could be because we’ve grown complacent, could be because we feel He no longer hears us . . . could be that we don’t even know why we are moving.  But still we move – farther and farther away. 

In Psalm 23, we see that David’s personal experience led him to believe that his God would always come after him.  And you know what? Regardless of how far we wander, David’s God – our God – desires that we return, for He will always be our Shepherd.  He will never leave us.   

Find yourself far from God right now?  Wandering if you can find your way back home?  

Regardless of the distance we’ve allowed to grow between us and our God today, we should not lose hope! For He lovingly dispatches His sheep dogs, His goodness and His mercy, for us – just as He did for David – to relentlessly pursue us until we return safely home to Him.  

God’s sheepdogs – His gifts, our reminders of His love.