Taste and See

By John Madge

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”—Psalm 34:8 (NIV)

I’d like you to think about your favorite meal and try to remember the first time you ever tried it. Let’s approach today’s verse with that level of excitement and expectation.

Expanding upon our initial thought: What or who gave you the confidence to try eating that food for the first time? Perhaps it was an advertisement that showed off other people enjoying the food. Or maybe it was family and friends who had already tried it and told you about how good it was. You could have also used your other senses (sight, touch, smell, etc.) before deciding to taste.

Regardless of how you came to your decision, there was a level of trust in the testimony of others who had already tried it. I say trust because your senses and the testimony of others don’t always line up perfectly. Your senses could be raving over the look, sight, and smell of the food, but others could dissuade you by telling you that it’s awful. Or conversely, your senses could rebel against you trying it and others could swear by the food’s goodness. In order for you to taste, you had to first trust and believe.

There’s still one last factor I’d like to draw your attention to: hunger. Hunger signals that your body needs food.

Let’s consider two types of hunger as noted in Scripture:

In Philippians 3:19(ESV, emphasis added), it says, “Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” This hunger is a worldly hunger. It’s the type of hunger that seeks only to satisfy the natural desires of man, which are described in 1 John 2:16 (NIV): “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” But as we’re told in 1 John one verse prior, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world . . . comes not from the Father but from the world.”

This hunger is the kind of thing that promises satisfaction but never delivers; it always leaves us unsatisfied. But there’s a second type of hunger . . . In Matthew 5:6 (NIV), Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

So, hunger isn’t a bad thing; the question is what are we hungry for? The things of this world or God and the things of God?

Just consider what David said: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” When you taste the goodness of God through relationship, by spending time with Him, and by consuming His Word, the Holy Spirit does two things:

1)He fills you and you experience a fullness, contentment, and satisfaction unlike any other because it’s centered on the unlimited goodness and ever-increasing grace of God in your life. He fills you to overflow, which then spills out into the lives of others so that they can taste!

2)He changes your appetite! The things of the world that used to seem so enticing to the senses now taste bad!

Friends, I invite you to taste! Spend time with Him, consume the Word regularly, and sit at the table of prayer and worship. As you do, you’ll see, experience, and live in the goodness of God, which will bring the best fullness you can ever imagine!

Pause: What is holding you back from following the advice of today’s passage of Scripture?

Practice: Read and memorize Psalm 34:8.

Pray: Lord, I believe You are good and that Your goodness endures forever. I want to taste and see Your goodness today. May Your goodness overflow in my life unto the lives of others, that I would repeat the words of the psalmist, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” Amen.