O taste and see that the LORD is good. (Psalm 34:8a)
Ponder a moment the idea of tasting in order to realize God’s goodness. Taste is a very literal, physical sensation, a natural and integral part of our humanity. But here it is used to point toward a spiritual sensing that one can know as surely as we can identify the taste of food in our mouths.
What do we taste in our lives? There are salty tastes, the taste of tears in times of sorrow. There are bitter tastes, the taste of longing for what used to be or of crying out for what has not yet come to be. There are sweet tastes, the times of satisfaction and rejoicing, when it is easy to identify the LORD’s goodness. Seeing that the LORD is good when we taste tears and unfulfilled longing is harder. Yet that is what the psalmist proclaims: God saves from trouble and delivers from fears. Our blessedness is not in tasting only one flavor, but in discovering God in new and different ways through all the varied tastes of life. For the one taste that truly satisfies our souls is that which comes with intimate fellowship with the one who created us. May such closeness fill your senses today.