Thursday, October
25, 2018
Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! Psalm 34:8(NLT)
Let’s
unpack those words.
Taste
To “taste”
here is literally to perceive by experiencing. It involves a conscious decision to be
involved. I recall a TV commercial years
ago for Life cereal. Some boys were
reluctant to taste the new cereal their Mom had brought home, so they tried it
on their little brother, Mikey.
This is so
like beginning a relationship with God.
Many people are more than willing to give their opinion about God
without first knowing Him. It is the
theological equivalent of “Monday-morning quarterbacks”. Guys who could hardly find the practice field
and warmed the bench for two seasons in high school presume to know how the
professionals should do it. People who
claim to know all about living the spiritual life, but have never even had an
authentic conversation with God, have not “tasted”; they have only looked. “Tasting God” means taking Him at His
word. It’s a leap of faith that
says: “I commit my life to you, what
will you do with me?”
See
If “tasting” is to perceive by experience, “seeing” is knowing by that
same experience. There is something that
happens when you take that leap of faith – something on the inside that
validates the closeness of God. There’s
an old expression of doubt that goes: I’ll
believe it when I see it. But
with God it’s the other way around; you will never see until you believe!
And what is it that we “see” anyway? What we see is that the LORD is good!
Trust and be Happy
To take
refuge is to trust. Happiness
with the general direction and outcome of life is a matter of
trust…always. That is because we cannot
see the future. But God can…and so
trusting our lives and future to the One who holds that future is the only sane
decision in the playbook!
In some of
John Wesley’s sermons he described an experimental aspect of
religious activities – an “experiencing” of God’s power in one’s life. Henry Blackaby is well-known for his Experiencing
God writings. Blackaby
contends that when we cooperate with the move of God in our lives we grow as a
strong and useful disciple. It is this
that we see here; a person “tastes” by committing himself in a leap of faith to
God’s control over his life. Because of
this “leap” there is a “seeing” a knowing deep-down that God is truly
good. Faith is born strong in the inner
self, and this leads to a contented heart and soul – happiness within.
David knew
what he was talking about. When he was
tasting and seeing and trusting he was among the most blessedly happy of
men. When he got away from God and
trusted in his own ways, his own strength and desires he became the most
miserable wretch on the planet. He could
write about being incredibly blessed, and he could also recount the emptiness
of having forfeited the presence of God’s Holy Spirit.
For You Today
Now, as much as we can talk all day about
this, it does little to stir your taste buds.
It is like this apple – I hold it and describe it, while I eat it.
Chomp!
Oh, it’s delicious … juicy … crunchy … sweet. It’s got that tiny hint of tartness that
comes from upper Connecticut orchards.
Ummm…boy that’s good.
Did you taste it? Wasn’t it good? Did you enjoy that superb taste when I bit
into it? Are you satisfied? Happy with that?
Of course, not…you watched, your mouth may
have watered; you may have tried to ignore my rudeness at eating without
offering you some…but you didn’t get near it, did you? You’re just as empty as when I started.
You, uh, chew on that as
you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.
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