Bless Me
David ends this beautiful psalm with this powerful declaration over his life. He is so convinced that his shepherd is able.
It is on the basis of the ability of his shepherd that he says that goodness and love will follow him all the days of his life. David is not saying this looking at what he has or his own ability.
He is not even looking at his condition and situation. He is declaring this purely believing that when he has God on his side, his life has no choice but to produce love and goodness.
I have seen many people who had things, but what they had did not bring them goodness or love at all. That which was meant to be a blessing in their lives became a curse.
Some people who had an opportunity to work in high positions ended up with a lot of blood on their hands. A young man who just bought a car ended up dead in the local shebeen.
The car was meant to make his life easier, but it took him quicker to his grave.
How about a guy who just started making lots of money and ended up with lots of girls and eventually the disease? David is not just making an empty declaration he has seen that it is possible to have a good thing that brings you nothing but trouble.
Now the key to this declaration is found in these last words, I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. The goodness and love are connected to Him being positioned in the house of the LORD.
I want you to see the parallel in these two statements. One statement says “all the days of my life” and the other one says “forever”. The goodness and love will follow him for as long as he is in the house of the LORD.
You cannot manage anything of God when you have been disconnected from Him. Do not ever think that you can manage that marriage when you are not connected to God! Things of God do not respect anything else but God Himself.
Now do not be deceived when you see things going well for you, they are only responding to the one in you. The moment that you disconnect from Him, they will also rebel against you.
When Adam disconnected from God even though the soil refused to produce, the animals turned against him and they started pointing fingers at each other in their marriage.
Let us look at a few examples from the bible. There was once a man called Samson. The Bible says that he was the strongest man. He was so strong that he once killed an army with the donkey’s jawbone.
He was so strong that at some stage he killed a lion with his bare hands. I cannot think of anyone who is alive today who has this kind of strength.
I watch wrestling now and again, but I do not think that there is anyone who can kill the lion with his bare hands. Samson got married to a woman called Delilah.
Is it possible that the thing that you love the most could be the one that will hurt you the most? Delilah was a Philistine woman and the Philistines were the archenemies of the Jews.
As a result, the Philistines used Delilah to get information from Samson about his strength. One day, after many days of nagging, he told her that the secret of his strength was his hair.
Delilah waited for him to sleep and she cut his locks. Now as usual she would shout, ‘Samson, the Philistines are upon you!’ Now normally at this time Samson would wake up and give the Philistines a big hiding.
However on this particular day, the bible says, ‘But he did not know that the LORD had left him.’ The strength was not in the hair, it was in the fact that God was with him. He still had the experience and the muscles, but God was gone.
The other example would be that of Solomon. Solomon was the wisest man. He was so wise that people came from other countries to come and see this man.
It is the very same Solomon who built the temple of the LORD. When David wanted to build this temple God refused and said that it would be built by his son.
Solomon also had the privilege of building the palace. He started playing with fire when he started getting married to foreign women. He thought that he could manage life with his wisdom.
Friend, always remember this, you can never manage the things of God without God. The things of God respond to the voice of God only. If they cannot hear His voice in yours, they will reject you.
Do not ever think that it is the gift of God in your life that produces results. It is not the gift of God but the presence of God. The gift will disappoint you when His presence has left you.
I believe that it was at the Easter Conference in Pudimoe where I said that speaking is just speaking but when it is given to God it becomes preaching.
I also mentioned that singing is just singing but when it is given to God it becomes worship. The presence of God is what makes a difference in the gift.
The Bible says that God became angry with Solomon and said that He was going to tear away the kingdom from him.
The other thing that I have observed in the church was people who get lots of money today and the following day the child gets sick. So even though they received something significant from the Lord, it went right out on the other door.
Other times you just get paid today and the following day the car breaks down, so all your money goes to fixing the car.
So when we pray and say goodness and love will follow us all the days of our lives we are declaring that what God gives to us will bring us goodness and not pain.
We are declaring that what God has given to us is meant to be an addition to our lives. This is to refuse to have pockets with holes.
I see this as a declaration of blessing. Blessing means to empower someone to prosper. So when you say that God has blessed you, you mean that God has empowered you to prosper.
Do not think of prosperity in monetary terms only. To prosper means to succeed. So when God blesses you, it simply means that He is causing you to be a success.
There is a portion in Deuteronomy 28 where Moses says, ‘…and to bless all the work of your hands.’ Literally everything that you touch will prosper.
Now in closing this is how we are going to pray here: Bring all the things that you intend to do in the future before God.
Bring all the new projects and new opportunities before Him. All your financial plans, all your marital plans, your career plans, bring them all before the LORD.
As we are preparing to move into a new year, bring your plans for the new year before Him. Do not walk into a future that does not include God.