Our Confidence In God Series

David is saying that even in the face of fearsome situations, we have a calm inside, a sense of tranquility and peace, that lets us enjoy the feast of God’s love. Someone has said that “peace is not the absence of trouble. Peace is the presence of God.”

III.

Finally, Psalm 23 expresses confidence in A GOD OF PROMISE. David exclaimed: “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” God is more than a God who provides. He is more than a God who protects. He is a God who makes all of life -- both present and future -- a wonderful thing. He is a God of Promise.

Jesus spoke of us having an abundant life. “I have come,” he said, “that you may have life and have it more abundantly.” That’s what David was describing when he wrote: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” With God by our side, life is good. Our lives are fulfilled in ways we cannot even begin to imagine. Not the fullness of possessions, not the abundance of things, but the abundance of God: God’s love, God’s peace, God’s joy, God’s goodness. And I can guarantee you -- if you have these things and nothing else, you are infinitely more rich than if you had all the material prosperity in the world.

But there is more to this life than this present earthly existence. The Shepherd’s Psalm reminds us that God has prepared for us a marvelous future, an eternal security, a heavenly home.

Many people have only an uncertain hope of eternity. Ask them if they will go to heaven and often they answer with words such as, “I think so,” or “I hope so.” But these words of Psalm 23 are not a vague expression of uncertainty. They are a declaration of certainty -- a confidence that God has provided a glorious future and eternal home for us.

David does not say, “I hope to be there.” He says “I will be there.”

And in the New Testament the reason for our confidence is made clear. Paul said, “It is not by works, lest any man should boast.” It is “by the grace of God we are saved.” What is this grace of God? It is God who “loved the world so much that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him would not perish but have eternal life.” It is through Christ’s death on the cross that our sins are forgiven. It is through his resurrection from the grave that we are given an assurance of eternal life. And it is through faith in what God has done in Jesus Christ that we receive his precious promises. And when we come to God in faith, trusting in his provision, depending on his protection, we know that we can rely upon his promise. And with the assurance of faith we can declare our confidence as well.

“I SHALL not want” ....

“I WILL not fear” ....

And “I WILL dwell in the house of the Lord... FOREVER!”

I want you to know that you can know the confidence of David this morning if you will open up your hearts to God and invite Christ into your life.

You don’t have to go through life searching for that which will make you happy, only to be disappointed and left empty by the material things of life. God will provide the things you need. And God will fulfill your lives in ways you can never dream of.