IN HIS HOUSE FOREVER

 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want…
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me….
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
(Excerpts from Psalm 23 NKJV)

We [live] and will continue to [live] because it pleases God. He sees that it is good. This is how the Twenty-third Psalm is to be understood. “Though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death,” death looming over me, “I fear no evil!” How, really, can this be? It is not a frightened person whistling in the dark. It is experience-based knowledge of the reality of God’s rod (protection) and staff (correction) that comfort me. “His goodness and mercy dog my steps through the days of my life, and I shall reside in His house forever.” How does the psalmist know this? Because He knows God. He knows Him in regular interactions in the real world. Those interactions show who God is and what God, therefore, will certainly do! That is what the Twenty-third Psalm says. 

-- Dallas Willard in “The Divine Conspiracy”

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