| "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! 9Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! 10The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing." (Psalm 34:8-10)
TODAY'S WORD , if you're one of God's children, you will figure this out by the end of your life: God is good. There's no telling what He will take you through to bring you to that place. But eventually your value system will be set up in such a way that you say, "The Lord is good!" Everything He allowed, everything He withheld, every difficult season, every stretching circumstance, God meant for your good. His disposition is kindness. His default action is for your benefit. You can know His goodness as certainly as you can taste and savor your favorite food.
Psalm 34:8 invites us to "taste and see that the Lord is good." The sequence of the phrase makes tasting the action and seeing the result. God is saying in essence, Engage all your senses and you will discover, among other things, My goodness. Here, tasting and seeing are used to help us understand just how "up close and personal" God's goodness can be experienced.
In the immediate context, there are three other parallel expressions that illustrate how you can "taste and see that the Lord is good." They are: 1) take "refuge in him" and be "blessed"; 2) "fear the Lord and have no lack"; 3) "seek the Lord and lack no good thing."
Taking refuge, fearing the Lord, and seeking Him are three ways of tasting. The closer we engage with God, the more we can know His goodness. He urges, "Taste! Sample and see. Find out for yourself that I am good." God's goodness is what He wants us to experience. He offers Himself to us!
Psalm 100:5 says, "For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations." Every generation learns the truth-God's goodness is something He wants us to experience. It flows to us as steadfast love and faithfulness and is present in everything He does.
Even God's timetable is good, but we may only see this after events have transpired. Our prayer must be, Father, I'm waiting for You because I've tasted and know You are good in what You do and in when You do it!
Psalm 145:9 says, "The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made." God is not usually quick to answer questions like, "Why did You allow this, God?" or "Why is this happening in my life?" But His mercy and His kindness are over all that He has made. Those willing to keep tasting are the ones who keep finding His goodness.
A PRAYER FOR YOU TODAY Lord, as I go about my day today, You spread a feast before me to be tasted. You want me to discover once again that You are good. Make me mindful of those opportunities to take refuge in You, to fear You, and to seek You. Show me how to make this day all about You, not about me. Open my eyes that I may see not only Your faithfulness and mercy but also that Your goodness is new every morning. In Jesus' name, amen.
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