Goodness and Mercy

 Goodness and Mercy

May 5, 2025

Psalms 23:5-6 (NASB95) 

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness(mercy) will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

This verse at the end of the twenty third psalm reminds me of a story that one of my missionary friends told about a church in Guatemala. We had been to this church many times and had built a church and homes in a walled compound. The pastor was a local man who was a veteran of the civil wars in Guatemala. He preached the gospel fearlessly and the church was growing. This upset the local shaman, witch doctor. He threatened the pastor many times and his followers had vowed to kill the pastor.

One day, some of the elders of the church were in the village and saw the disciples of the shaman. They confronted them saying, “You have threatened to kill our pastor many times, but why have you never done anything ?”  The witch doctors men answered, “Oh, we will, as soon as those two, tall men with swords, who guard the entrance of the church compound every night, leave!” The elders went back to the pastor rejoicing, because there were no humans guarding the pastor. “Surely Goodness and Mercy will follow me all the days of my life.” That’s when I learned that there are two big angels named Goodness and Mercy!