There is a saying that tells us a person eats with their eyes first. The visual presentation allows the person on the receiving end to soak in what they are about to experience. Picture a buffet laden with all of your favorite foods. The sight alone leaves you salivating but you quickly learn complete satisfaction comes when you taste the bounty. The experience is not complete unless you taste and see. One action depends on the other for enjoyment.

Now imagine what life is like when you see something but you can’t touch it. Or you hear a beautiful melody but have no idea what the source is. How about a plate of your favorite food within arms reach that you are not allowed to taste. Do you see the dilemma and sense the tension when one aspect is available but another is kept from you?

God graciously invites us to taste and see through these words from David.

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.
 Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry,
    but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.
(Psalm 34:8-10 NLT)

God promises me goodness in knowing Him and in the tasting of a life with Him. It is a both/and invitation in which I live with the person of God and in this place I experience a truth that leads me home. My relationship deepens as God refines my palate to embrace and understand His goodness. The process is similar to how a baby is introduced to new foods. The baby learns to see and taste and recognize new foods. He/she then develops a like or dislike for the food.

Let’s take it a step further. Just like you and I refine our taste buds, babies begin to crave the foods they like until the desire becomes greater than the food itself. I know I fall into this trap of craving foods believing that eating more of said food will satisfy the longing. Can you say “hello chocolate”? But what if we take this same theory and apply it to God and the Gospel?

Taste and see comes to life when it is applied to God’s truth. As His child, God provides multiple opportunities daily to experience and perceive the truth of who He is. The more we are exposed to love, truth, and grace, the more we crave God’s goodness. It’s contagious!

Bill Johnson, God is Good, says it like this:

If you’ll taste it for yourself, you’ll see it more clearly. Your perception of truth will increase as you experience truth more deeply.

The beauty of the concept of “taste and see” is finding satisfaction in Jesus. He promises our appetites will be satiated when we seek fulfillment in Him. The fourth beatitude says it like this:

You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat. (Matthew 5:6 MSG)

God is the Hope we long for, the daily bread that nourishes us, and the goodness we crave. #tasteandsee #TellHisStory #linkup Share on X

We lack nothing when we put our trust in Jesus. He takes little and makes it into much. When we crave more, Jesus leads us to nourishment and fills our being with “spiritual milk.” (1 Peter 2:2) Our hearts beat in rhythm with God’s as we seek to grow in deeper relationship with Him. And every step we take toward God allows us to taste and see for ourselves. In this process, we become “contagious representatives of God’s goodness.” (Bill Johnson, God is Good.)

Let’s believe together that as we taste and see of the goodness of the Lord, we find not only satisfaction but contentment. In Him, we find all we need. God is the Hope we long for, the daily bread that nourishes us, and the goodness we crave.

Blessings,

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

***Join me here next week for our featured writer–Dr. Michelle Bengston. She is a beautiful writer as well as a neuropsychologist. Her first book, Hope Prevails: Insights from a Doctor’s Personal Journey through Depression has a companion bible study. Her next book, Breaking Anxiety’s Grip: How to Reclaim the Peace God Promises releases September 17, 2019.

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