You are being followed!

“Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” (Psalm 23:6a NKJV)

I have a friend who says, “I have two angels following me and I will tell you their names. One’s name is ‘Goodness’ and the other’s name is “Mercy.”

Even though my friend says it In a humorous way, it is still very much true! God is all about “goodness and mercy” and he provides loads of it to you!

Goodness – “God’s goodness and love last forever. “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever” (Psalm 107:1 NIV).

Mercy – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3 ESV)

God takes care of the birds and you are more important to Him than they!

“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” (Matt. 6:26 NASB)

God wants you to look at the birds of the air and notice something important about them. They are constantly being fed and taken care of by Him, and you are more important to Him than the birds! Which means, “God will supply to you what you need, just as he faithfully does for His birds!”

So, don’t worry about your “needs!”

Instead, expect God to do what he says He will do, and He will! That is how faith works! “And my God shall supply all your need!”  (Phil. 4:19a NKJV)

You are an overcomer!

“You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4 NASB)

A few years ago, when I was going through a particularly rough time, a friend said to me, “How are you doing?”

I answered, “Okay, I guess, under the circumstances!”

He then said, “What are you doing under there!?”

I laughed, at the time. But as the years have passed I have come to realize that there was a great truth in that simple statement made by my friend so long ago. I don’t have to remain “under any circumstance” because of Christ living in me and also because of the many Bible promises that cover every possible thing!

One scripture passage says, “they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony.” (Rev. 12:11 NKJV).

Notice that they overcame their adversary two ways:.

  1. By the Blood of the Lamb (what Jesus did for them on the cross)

  2. By what they professed with their mouth (they testified)

So, no matter what negative “circumstance” comes your way, you can victoriously rise above it by standing firmly on God’s Word and by saying boldly and confidently, “I am an overcomer because of what Jesus has done for me! And greater is He (Jesus) who is in me, than he (the devil) who is in the world! Therefore, I am an overcomer!”

God will make you strong in your weakness!

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:9-10 NIV)

God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty. (1 Cor. 1:27b NKJV)

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:29-31 NIV)

God forgives without measure!

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 NKJV)

When You confess your sins to God, He forgives and forgets them and cleanses you completely from all unrighteousness! That means you are made completely clean and righteous in His sight!

This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Rom 3:22-24 NIV)

He has the ability to totally forget and remember your sins no more! And, they will never be brought up against you again!

And, why does God do this wonderful thing for you?

The Bible says that He does it for his own sake! “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” (Isaiah 43:25 NIV)

And, how far does he blot out your sins? “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalms 103:12 NIV)

Notice that this passage says that God has removed them as far as the “east from the west” and not “as far as the “north from the south”. It’s because “east from west” is immeasurable, but “north from south” is measurable! God’s amazing forgiveness is without measure!

God is good all the time; all the time God is good!

“For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon Your.” (Psalm 86:5 NIV)

God is the embodiment of perfect goodness, and is kind, benevolent, and full of good will toward all creation

“O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” (Psalm 34:8)

“O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” (1 Chr. 16:34)

“Answer me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good; According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me.” (Psalm 69:16)

“For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 100:5)

“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” (James 1:17)

“The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him.” (Nahum 1:7)

“Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.” (Psalm 25:8)

God is rich in mercy!

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us.” (Eph. 2:4 NIV)

Mercy: compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm. It is leniency, clemency, compassion, grace, pity, charity, forgiveness, forbearance, soft-heartedness, tenderheartedness, kindness, sympathy, liberality, indulgence, tolerance, and generosity.

God is rich in mercy!

We have a powerful and merciful God. He knows we have all fallen short of His glory, but His mercy is incredible.

“For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy to all them that call on you.” (Psalm 86:5)

Come boldly to obtain mercy

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3)

God is rich in grace!

“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.” (Titus 2:11 NIV)

Grace is God’s unmerited favor and blessings

Grace is the free and unmerited favor of God as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowing of blessings. It is unmerited mercy (favor) that God gave to humanity by sending his son to die on a cross, thus delivering eternal salvation.

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” (Ephesians 1:7)

It is given through faith

“This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:22-24)

You have been saved through faith

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Grace and truth through Jesus

“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17)

Gift of righteousness

“For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!” (Romans 5:17)

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life!

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 NIV)

He’s full of grace and truth!

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

His Word is truth!

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17)

You were sealed by the Holy Spirit!

“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14)

We are brought fourth by the word of truth!

“Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.” (James 1:18