Page 44 - Radical Love by Linda Robinson

SESSION 1 : Who is This Shepherd-King?

When we begin to live life as God intended—even when times get

tough and challenging—we will still be able to say like David says in
Psalm 23 verse 6 (KJV), “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
This is an emphatic statement of confidence; a declaration of total trust,

as in: surely, most definitely, without doubt or question.

David could proclaim these words because he knew his God—not only
as his own personal Good Shepherd, but as his strong, protective

Father, his tender, caring, gentle Mother, and his covenant-keeping
King.

The word for mercy in this last verse is the English translation of the

word chesed. In his book The Messianic Church Arising, Dr. Robert
Heidler explains the depth of its meaning:

“To translate chesed as mercy makes it sound weak or sentimental. It
sounds like we are saying that God is a ‘nice’ God. That’s not what

chesed means. Chesed is a covenant term and is a powerful word. It’s

a person’s determination to keep covenant promises. God is totally
committed to keep His covenant with YOU!”

Remember how earlier I quoted the words of Psalm 25:10 (ESV),
which say that “All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and

faithfulness” for those who choose to follow Him? This is further
evidence of that truth and should be of great sustenance to us when our

lives go through difficult seasons. Our God can be relied upon

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