Day 37 | Through Every Season - Lauren
Our Shepherd doesn’t just pursue us once or only when we are going astray, but in every season, good or bad, His goodness and love faithfully follow us.
Many theologians believe that David wrote Psalm 23 when he was an older man looking back over a lifetime of ups and downs. And for David, there were some significant “downs”—he had an affair, he orchestrated a murder, he experienced the death of a baby. He certainly could have pointed out many things that had followed him—King Saul, his enemies, disappointment, regret, frustration, guilt and shame. Yet, in the looking back, David seems to point only to God’s faithful guidance and protection. He had spiritual eyes to see that God’s goodness and love followed him all the days of his life thus far and would continue to follow him the rest of his days on earth and into eternity.
Perhaps the key to David’s statement in verse 6 of Psalm 23 is the result of his admission of guilt in Psalm 51. David confessed and God cleansed. In the place of sin, he saw God’s mercy and love. Instead of seeing his shame, he saw God’s goodness and grace.1 David pleaded with God in prayer,
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” –Psalm 51:1-2
He then believed that God gave him the cleansing he sought and the freedom he longed for. Every one of us has a sin problem like David, yet not all of us trust in the truth that John, a disciple of Jesus, declares in one of his letters,
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” –1 John 1:9
On the other hand, some of us can trust God’s forgiveness for our personal sins, but are still angry about the remnants of sin in the world in the form of illness, pain, death of our loved ones, job loss, slander, hardship, and suffering. These situations test our confidence in the care of Christ—the occasions when the “chips are down and life is more than a list of pious platitudes.”2
It’s in times of testing, trials, and difficulty that we have trouble declaring,
“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” –Lamentations 3:22-23
Yet, just because we don’t feel the truth of these statements, doesn’t make them any less true. God pursues us with His lovingkindness no matter what. His compassion for us never ends. He is faithful even when we are not.
The same is true of Jesus. He loves His sheep even when they wander and turn away from Him. He is tender and kind toward us when we are weary and weathered by the world. He delights in His role as Shepherd and willingly laid His life down for His sheep. (John 10:11)
We can choose to get stuck in the muck and mire of our sin or admit our guilt and release our shame knowing that God made a way for us, through His Son, to be forgiven. We can choose to see the ugly things of this world or we can follow in the footsteps of David and use our spiritual eyes to see the goodness and the beauty that God promises to bring from the ashes. (Isaiah 61:3)
In the middle of the mess when things look bleak, we can choose to worry and fuss or trust and declare,
“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” –Psalm 27:13-14
REFLECT
1. How does choosing to see the pursuit of God’s goodness and mercy on the “good” days and the “bad” days, change my perspective in the various seasons of my life?
2. Where am I holding on to guilt and shame and refusing to confess my sins? How am I struggling to allow God’s forgiveness to cleanse my soul?
3. How am I allowing the weariness of the world to blind me to see the goodness and mercy that follow me even on my darkest days?
PRAYER
Father in heaven, thank you for the death of your Son who took away my guilt and shame through His death and resurrection. I praise you that, like David, I can confess my guilt to you and walk forward in trust that I don’t have to drag along my past sins behind me. Help me to leave them nailed to the cross of Christ and buried under the grace of Jesus.3 Lord, sometimes I get down and discouraged by the hurting and suffering that is happening all around me and it causes me to doubt the presence of your goodness and mercy. Help me to be confident of your faithfulness, to stand firm in strength and believe that you’re still at work to bring beauty from ashes.
TAKE ACTION TODAY
Reach out to a spouse or call or text a close friend and set up a time to connect face-to-face. As uncomfortable as it may be, take the opportunity to confess any sin patterns that have you stuck in a holding pattern. There is real freedom that comes from looking into another human’s eyes and hearing their voice remind you that Jesus paid for your sins on the cross, “it is finished” and you are forgiven. Share with a friend the concerns you’re carrying from your journey in this fallen world and ask them to help you discover where God is at work to pursue you with His goodness and mercy.