Goodness and Mercy
1 The LORD is
my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green
pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow
me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
When I began doing my research and prayer
for this article I have to admit it was a bit overwhelming. How does one write about the goodness and
mercy of our Father in heaven…. how can one capture the vastness and importance
of this wholly divine characteristic of God?
I decided to stop and take a look at the
etymologies, or the word origins of the words mercy and goodness.
This led me to include another word into my article as it surely proved
to be synonymous with the other two, and that word is grace. During this journey, the most awesome thing
happened.
Throughout the research God kept speaking to me and because I was caught
up in “looking”, I wasn’t hearing. In
the wee hours, as I was pouring over my notes and correlating them, I actually
heard an audible voice (I know it was the Holy Spirit) in my left ear. I will get to the message in a minute… now I
would like to show you some items of speech concerning these words.
Mercy: The discretionary power of
a judge to mitigate punishment; an
act of kindness; compassion; favor;
something that gives evidence of divine favor.
Goodness: A euphemism for GOD; moral excellence; the best part of
anything; kindness; strength of character.
Now this is a lot of information, so I
encourage you to re-read it completely… I did not actually set out to make this
article a lesson in English… But it has turned out for me to be a lesson in
God.
Interestingly, the synonyms that were
listed for these three words were as equally as similar: Integrity; morality;
benevolence; forgiveness; clemency; leniency; tenderness; mildness. Is this a
mere coincidence of God’s words? Or, is it by design?
So, back to the message in my ear… As I
was reading and meditating, the quiet revelation I received in my ear is this.
Goodness and Mercy is the fulfillment
of His Grace. It all seems so simple… and really it is. I encourage you to seek your own revelation
on this. Good luck and God Bless.
