Devotional by Lauren Webb
Scripture for Today: Psalm 34:8 (NIV), “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.”
Happy birthday to you….
The room was frozen with expectation. My youngest sat in her high chair. A beautiful smash cake decorated with pink flowers sat before her. Cameras poised mid-air, ready to catch the moment by smiling grandparents. Hailee sat surveying the room over the cake presented to her, glancing from the cake to the adults circling like paparazzi. She sat ridged glaring suspiciously. She was having no part of it.
Finally, I took a healthy swipe of icing and ran it across her lips like lipstick. She was so mad. But as soon as her face started to scrunch up in protest the icing found its mark. Her eye grew round with delight. As she licked her lips she began to squeal with excitement. I’ve never seen her move as fast as she did to get another bite.
8Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
There is an urging of sorts here in this section of Scripture; a call for us as believers to join in. Just like the birthday cake. There is a delighted expectation from God for us to just lick our lips. David is asking us to taste in the Lord’s goodness. The goodness of God includes the beauty and awesomeness of His being as well as the bounty and benefit of His providence and grace.
This can be the hard part of our faith walk when we struggle in life. When our kids are struggling, our husbands lose their jobs, relationships fail, or when our bodies seem to betray us. But, this Psalm is not a conviction out of victory but a testimony from experience. David was on the run. He finds himself away from family and friends and hiding among his enemies, the Philistines. In an effort to save his life he pretends to be someone he is not, a mad man. It is from this place that David urges those around him to see and taste the goodness of God. It boils down to one thing.
To taste is to trust.
Often times I want the emotions to dictate my response. But in truth to trust in His goodness requires intentional practice. It means taking small bites in willingness to be aware of our own poverty. Not poverty of one who has no possessions but of one who recognizes they are without resources to affect their own deliverance or secure their own wellbeing and so is dependent upon God.
It is through this dependence upon Him that we recognize what a generous and loving God He is. We must relish in all of His gifts realizing the sweetness of His provisions. We must also view Him as beautiful. When we delight in His infinite and powerful being we find contentment.
To taste and see that the Lord is good means to take notice of it and take comfort in it. For He is good and when we find comfort in Him we are truly blessed. My prayer for you my sister in Christ is that you will be convinced of His goodness and be encouraged in the worst of times to always trust in Him.
Reflect:
- Take Note of God’s Goodness: This week take time to write down all the ways you have experienced His goodness in your life. Nothing is too small to recognize. The more we practice this, the easier and more habit-forming it becomes. Be brave and share a few with someone.
- Take Comfort In It: So often our prayers become about what we need. This is good for us to do, but we also need to practice taking comfort in who God is. Tell Him in your prayers what you think of Him. Delight in His character, grant Him reverence in His judgment.