Ps. 23:6

"...surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever."
I had never thought much about this verse until last week, but as I was praying through some things, the Lord reminded me of it, and caused me to think about it. The goodness and mercy of God will follow me...pursue me...dog my steps. It is not just that I will occasionally experience kindness from God. And it is not that when I am "right" with Him, He will manifest His grace and favor. No, the reality is that the goodness and mercy of God will literally haunt my life. I will be unable to escape the determination of God to shed His love abroad in my life.
How does this thought impact you?
For me it does two main things:
1. It comforts me--all my days will be hedged about with the gracious kindness of God, and in eternity I will live forever with Him.
2. It breaks me--who wants to fight against a God whose heart is like that towards you?
May you be comforted and broken by the character and love of God for you.
There is no one like Him.

Christ: The Believer's only Righteousness

“Believers obey Christ as the One by whom our obedience is accepted by God. Believers know all their duties are weak, imperfect and unable to abide in God’s presence. Therefore, they look to Christ as the One who bears the iniquity of their holy things, who adds incense to their prayers, gathers out all the weeds from their duties and makes them acceptable to God.”

-- John Owen, quoted by Jerry Bridges in The Discipline of Grace (Colorado Springs, Co.: NavPress), 42.

A bit of Amy Carmichael

Thou Lovest Me!
Amy Carmichael

Thou knewest me before I was;
I am all open unto Thee;
And yet Thou lovest me, because—
Thou, my Lord, lovest me.

No other reason can I find;
No other reason can there be;
No human love, were it not blind,
Could ever care for me.

But Thy pure eyes do read me through;
My soul is naked unto Thee;
And yet—oh wonder ever new—
Thou, my Lord, lovest me.

And Thou wilt love. If good of mine
Had caused Thy glorious love to be,
Then surely would Thy love decline
And weary, Lord, of me.

I may not fear, for to the end
Thou lovest. Who save only Thee,
The sinner’s Savior and his Friend,
Would set His love on me?

And on Thee now my heart is set;
Thy name is music unto me.
O help me never to forget
That I am loved by Thee.