Dec 30 2024

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.

In Psalm 23, we have a meditation on the goodness of the Lord. Even though our lives may be difficult, we can look forward to the day when we dwell in the house of the Lord forever. We also know that the Lord's goodness and mercy will surround us.

Think about the goodness and mercy that the Lord has already shown us through Jesus. There was no way we could ever have a relationship with Him, but He came down to us and was the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He paid the debt that none of us could have paid, the debt that would have left us eternally separated from the Lord. Then, He opened up our hearts to receive salvation. If this were the only goodness and mercy that the Lord ever showed us, we would have abundant cause to rejoice for the rest of our lives.

But it doesn't end there. We will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. We will be restored to His name in all the wholeness and completion that existed before sin came into the world. We have the assurance of full restoration.

It's easy to let our minds drift away from the promises of God. This world bombards us, and the Adversary would like nothing more than for us to forget about Psalm 23 and the peace that it offers us in every circumstance. The best way to keep rejoicing and thinking about the goodness of the Lord is to memorize verses like this one and to recite them throughout the day.

Print some of your favorite verses and leave them in your car to read while waiting at a stop light. Take screenshots and use them as your phone's background. Follow Godly pages on social media so you are truly dwelling in the Lord's faithfulness on a day-to-day basis. Immersing yourself in God's Word will change the way you live your life because you will be able to align your emotions with the truth and the hope in this Psalm and on every page of the Bible. It will open your eyes to the realities of His goodness and mercy.

Dear Lord, I thank you for the love that you show me on every page of the Bible. I want to immerse myself in your promises, resting—truly resting—in your demonstrated faithfulness. I love you, Jesus, and I thank you for the goodness and faithfulness that you have shown me all the days of my life. In your name, amen.

Dec 29 2024

For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. :

In this verse from Psalm 107, we learn about the sufficiency of Jesus. He satisfies the deepest longing of our souls and fills our hearts with gladness. This is a living reminder that all of our deepest needs are going to be found in Jesus whenever we call out to Him.

And we have so many needs! We want to be loved, appreciated, respected, honored, liked, and approved of, in addition to our basic physical needs. Yet having these needs is not wrong. We were not made to sustain ourselves—our needs are intrinsic to our humanity. Where we can stray from the path that the Lord has for us is when we attempt to meet our needs in the wrong way.

The Lord has given us a much better alternative. Instead of falling into the temptation of worldly pleasures, we should retreat with Him when the longing of our souls is great. When we feel discouraged or unloved, we can go to the Lord in prayer and tell Him exactly how we feel. Once we bare our hearts and souls to the Lord, we can recite this verse back to Him: Lord, your Word says that you satisfy the longing soul and will fill me with gladness. Ask the Lord to honor what He promised, and you can be assured that He will.

Throughout our days, we should meditate on the goodness of the Lord. Take time each day to think about the reality of the Gospel and how the Lord has saved you. When we are filling ourselves up with remembrances of His goodness to us, we will be learning what it truly means to experience His sufficiency over everything.

Dear Lord, I thank you for filling me with all that I could ever need. I thank you for being the one my soul desires, where all of my needs are met once and for all. Your goodness overwhelms me. Help me to rest in that for all the days of my life. In Jesus' name, amen.