Oh Taste and See

Ps 34:8 Taste and See that the Lord is good

Taste, perceive, and experience the Lord, who He is and what He is all about. For He is good - He is pleasant, agreeable, excellent, valuable, appropriate, becoming, kind, and right.

David, as the writer of this psalm wants to describe the Lord and his experience of the Lord. David expresses what is to desire the Lord in Ps 42:1,2 where he writes, As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

When we taste something that is good we remember it, and if it is really good, something that really "hits the spot" than we not only remember it, but we then use that taste, that experience as a measure to compare other things against. When we have a really good meal, when we taste something wonderfully delicious, the ordinary stuff pales in comparison.

I am one of those who loves chocolate, but not just any chocolate, I am talking about rich dark chocolate. Years ago I was exposed to the wonder of Belgium chocolate; with its rich, smooth, and strong chocolate flavor. What this experience did was spoil me for this type of chocolate. Now, when I taste other chocolate, such as basic milk chocolate, it just does not compare to the rich dark chocolate taste I have come to love (all of you chocolate lovers can relate to what I am describing). I have now had enough of this dark chocolate that I don't eat other "lesser" chocolates anymore. I am totally spoiled for this taste, and have become as some describe, a chocolate snob.

Most of you can relate this to some kind of favorite food or drink, and can identify with having developed a "taste" for only the best.

Well, this is just exactly what David is speaking about in this verse. He is sharing that he has developed such a taste for the Lord, that he has become spoiled for the best. He is saying that only the Lord will bring him satisfaction, nothing else compares.

The Lord wants to spoil us. He wants us to taste Him and experience Him in such a real way that nothing else will satisfy. He wants to have the preeminent place in our life so that we will be fully satisfied in Him.God has given us so much, and He wants each and every one of us to know His love and His goodness in such a way that the things of the world will just not compare. This is not talking about a kind of religious works or will power that we can practice and do well enough to avoid the temptation in the world around us. Rather, this is talking about the reality and the power of the love of Christ that can forever change us.

Let us taste and see that the Lord is good. Let us experience on a daily basis the richness and satisfaction of a close and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This will enrich your life, add vitality to your prayers, and make you an effective witness of His love – because you will be a testimony of the truth of His goodness.

God bless you all.