Taste and See
By Joan Walker Hahn
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Psalm 34:8 NKJV
We don’t realize how much we take our physical senses for granted until we lose them. Like many others that dealt with Covid, I lost my sense of taste and smell. It was really strange looking at a particular food, knowing exactly how it was supposed to taste, but then putting it in my mouth and tasting absolutely nothing.
Not being able to taste and savor the flavor of what I was eating took the enjoyment out of eating. I ate because I knew I needed to, but I did not have the craving or desire for any certain food since I knew I wouldn’t be able to taste it anyway. I just went through the motions of eating without the tasting.
But not really tasting our food doesn’t just happen when we have lost that physical sense. I’ve noticed that sometimes I will go through a meal, and because of being in conversation with someone, or because we are watching television, after the last bite has been eaten, I will realize I had not fully savored the meal because I had been distracted.
At other times (especially if you set a nice piece of cheesecake in front of me!), I will take a bite and really allow the full flavor of that creamy goodness to ignite all my taste buds. I may even close my eyes to fully experience the taste with no other thoughts in my mind except for how good it is. However, as much as I love cheesecake, I had absolutely no desire for it while my sense of taste was gone.
As I was reading through the Psalms and came across the well-known verse of Psalm 34:8, I thought of it in a new way. It made me ask myself: how often do I just go through the motions of being a Christian, without actually tasting, really experiencing, the goodness of God?
The greatest joy of being a child of God is having that close, loving relationship with Him. Jesus stated it this way:
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. John 17:3 NKJV
To truly know God means really experiencing Him and His presence. It’s having the hope and peace that comes from Him in spite of what may be going on around us. It’s the assurance that we will spend eternity with Him because of trusting in Christ as our Savior.
But how often do we allow the cares and concerns of life to take away that peace? How often do we allow doubts to creep into our minds that cause us to question the assurance of the hope that is within us? Just as truly savoring a bite of food involves us intentionally thinking about what that food tastes like to fully enjoy it, we need to do the same with God. We have to learn to not allow the distractions of life to rob us of enjoying the goodness of God.
And for those who have never received the Lord as their Savior, they are like someone who has no sense of taste. They will have no desire for Him. They will have no knowledge of how good He is. Only when we have repented of our sins and received Christ into our hearts can we truly experience Him.
Have you truly tasted the goodness of God? Do you find you have lost some sense of His goodness? Be intentional in feeling His presence today. You will be fully blessed for doing so.
Heavenly Father, please forgive me when I allow the distractions of life to cause me to not fully realize the goodness of You. Even when things are going wrong, even in the midst of sickness or trials, Your love and mercy still surrounds me. Help me to be intentional in recognizing Your presence. May I allow You to have full control at all times so that I can fully savor Your goodness. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
For more encouragement, visit Joan at joanwalkerhahn.com.
© 2021 by Joan Walker Hahn. All rights reserved.
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Originally published Wednesday, 24 March 2021.
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