Taste and See

Read Psalm 34

The author of Psalm 34 had an intimate relationship with God - not the type of relationship that routinely shows up to a building on a particular day of the week or that reads a mystical book 15 minutes at a time out of some daily obligation. No, his relationship was friendly, it was passionate, it was indispensable. In fact, his relationship with God was so tangible, so palpable, so real to him that he could describe its taste and then sing about it! Man, they were tight!

When you spend time with your Heavenly Father, what is the “flavor” of that encounter like? Can you reach out and touch the love Jesus showed to you on the cross? Is the scent of hope fresh and bold in your nostrils because of the security you find in Christ’s resurrection from the dead? Is the sound of joy filling your ears because you get to be a part of building God’s Kingdom here and now? Or are your senses numb to the goodness overflowing from your Father’s character? I get that. Be challenged with me for a moment.

I recognize that your senses are constantly bombarded by everything ugly in the world. Like me, I’m sure you see the depression pulling on every head hung low, smell the defeat in every lost soul, taste the despair in every lonely heart, hear the agony in every weary body… But my brothers and sisters, we have been granted the gift of knowing there is, beyond the shadow of a doubt, something (someone) greater out there! There are so many bitter, sour, or rotten options to choose from, but I crave the taste of the only thing that can satisfy. All of creation hungers for it in fact.

There is a greater flavor, and He makes Himself available to us! It does not come from receiving any created thing; it comes simply from being with The Creator of all things - through prayer, meditation on His word, fellowship with believers, and so many other ways you can read about in Scripture. The more time I spend walking around this broken world, the more I not only need to be with God but I also want to be with Him. This is what relationship is built on, and He already poured the foundation by choosing to be with us. (Remember? Immanuel?)

You know… Why don’t you take a moment now to be with Him. You can tell Him how grateful you are for His influence in your life. Ask for His hand to be on you all day long. Dwell on His words to you in Psalm 34. Thank Him for what He’s done and for what He’s gonna do.

Now, let’s launch into this day on mission by finding encouragement in the final words of Psalm 34. The Psalmist sang, “The Lord redeems the life of His servants; none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.” How awesome is it to be in relationship with the one who is powerful enough to protect us from evil, creative enough to redeem our blemishes, and tender enough to care about us, His servants? We’ve tasted and seen His goodness already this morning; now let’s go share it with our hungry world!