TASTE AND SEE
Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him! Fear the LORD, you His godly people, for those who fear Him will have all they need.
Psalm 34:8-9 (NIV)
I confess that one of the things I loved doing for years was eating some of my favorite foods and then watching the Food Network. I could taste and see other things at the same time and it brought immense culinary joy to my stomach. I learned I liked watching, but I liked eating way more. I fear that faith is nothing more than an intellectual experience for some people. They see grace, they see the promises of God, they see God’s love, they see the Spirit at work around them, but it’s a whole other thing to taste it, to experience it.
Leonard Ravenhill once said, When I need the entertainment of the world, then I’ve lost the joy of the Lord. This has always stuck with me because, for years, I didn’t experience grace, joy and the love of God in a way that filled me up and left me satisfied. This led me to try to supplement love, joy and peace with stuff in this world, like jobs, hobbies, success and so on. There is nothing wrong with those things, but this thing shouldn’t be where I find my joy. They are too fleeting and not deep enough to fill the greatest longings of my soul.
In Hebrew culture, when teaching young children to study the Bible, they used to put honey in their mouths to remind them that the Word of God is sweet. They were teaching them to move from just an intellectual approach. They were not teaching them to just watch others consume and enjoy the goodness of God; instead, they were invited to taste and experience. May we bite down and experience the fullness of grace. May we savor every morsel of God’s Word until it fills our spiritual stomachs. May the sweetness of God’s presence cause us to never settle for the food of the world. May your spiritual taste buds experience the great joy of the Fruit of the Spirit poured out in your life.
APPLICATION: Allow your mind and your heart to be filled with a promise you recite over and over today
PRAYER: Ask the Spirit of God to truly fill you! Ask the Spirit where you are settling for the food of this world. Ask Him to help you taste and see the Spirit in new and fresh ways.
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?