Taste and See

Some years ago, when my wife came back from a job interview, she said, “There was something wrong about that man. He made me shiver. His eyes were as cold as ice.” Later, when he was put on trial for a gruesome murder, we realized that her intuition had been entirely accurate!

It is a wonderful truth that our God is not like that — distant, cold, and evil. David, in this psalm, encourages us to “taste and see” how amazingly good God is. Just as it brings joy to eat delicious food, so also it brings joy to experience God’s goodness.

There is no time more important to be reminded of God’s goodness than when we are struggling, hurting, or perhaps suffering. The taste of God’s goodness can seem far off or entirely gone, but he is not absent. “In everything God works for good with those who love him” (Rom. 8:28).

The guarantee of God’s good intentions toward us is found in Christ. At great cost to himself, he chose suffering so that we could be made whole. Even when we don’t understand why for the moment, we can be assured that God’s plan will bring good to us. What better definition of goodness could there be?

Knowing this, we can be encouraged to trust him with our lives, to thank him in all circumstances, and to do good for others as he has done for us. We can truly “taste and see that the Lord is good.”

I long to be reminded of how good you are, Lord. Please give me today in some very real way a taste of your great goodness. Amen.

Go Deeper — Has a conversation with someone ever left you unsettled? Perhaps that is God’s Holy Spirit cautioning you. Seek to be more in tune with what your body, heart and mind tell you. “Taste” only what is good by God’s standards.