"Oh, TASTE and see that the Lord is good..." (Psalm 34:8)
There are actually several devotionals-worth of writing in this verse. One is that the more we truly feed on (John 6:53-57) and taste God and His Reality, the more we are able to (spiritually) see Him...literally experience His Amazing Presence. But that devotional is for another time perhaps.
The one that I want to share with you now actually came through the experience of losing the ability to taste - food that is - and the incredible lesson this temporary deprivation provided about the critical nature of serving God alone. So in a way, the scripture verse on which this writing is based could actually be...
There are actually several devotionals-worth of writing in this verse. One is that the more we truly feed on (John 6:53-57) and taste God and His Reality, the more we are able to (spiritually) see Him...literally experience His Amazing Presence. But that devotional is for another time perhaps.
The one that I want to share with you now actually came through the experience of losing the ability to taste - food that is - and the incredible lesson this temporary deprivation provided about the critical nature of serving God alone. So in a way, the scripture verse on which this writing is based could actually be...
Don't taste...and see that the Lord is good!
Who wants to not be able to enjoy the flavor of food (and drink)? Certainly not me! And probably, I would assume, not many of you. And guess what? God must not have wanted us to go tasteless or flavorless either: He did give us taste buds, right? And I like to think that when God created the Garden of Eden, and placed fruits and vegetables in it for man to eat (Genesis 1:11-12, 29), that these were more succulent and mouth-watering than any morsels we could ever imagine now.
But like so many other things, food and drink (and their tastiness, and for what we use them) often become more important than God, making them a rival to God...making them A god... and this was never meant to be (1 Corinthians 10:31). There are so many competing forces that distract us from truly seeking God (Jeremiah 29:13). One of these is that due to the sin nature, we have become enslaved (Romans 6) to self-gratification (1 John 2:15-17), which so often involves the need...the craving...that one or more of our five senses be indulged. It no longer is a treat to see a beautiful sunrise; we have to surround ourselves with eye-pleasing items that must be periodically replaced because they lose their optical "flavor." We complain if what we hear does not make us feel good in one way or another. And I know in my own life (especially when I am under stress and wanting something...anything to take away the edge...), if something I am eating (or drinking) does not taste just so, I am beyond disappointed. Let's face it, whether the flavor of something satisfies our senses (or not) can in fact all-too-often-and-quickly become a god; a god, however, that serves us. If we are sensually pleased, we keep and praise it; if not, we throw it out. We quickly move from appreciation to whether or not we are being gratified.
So here is where the lesson of the "flavorless food" comes in. Last night I had to eat. My body was telling me I needed nutrition. I was feeling a little shaky. But I couldn't TASTE anything! I didn't want to eat if my taste buds couldn't be satisfied! I ate anyway. And I actually found myself thanking God for tasteless food. Why? Not only because I realized that He was helping sustain my physical body by providing the meal; but more so because I found that He was using the lack of flavor in the food to cause me to focus more on HIM...on His "flavor"...on His Presence. As I chewed the tasteless food and thanked Him for the nutrition it was providing, I actually found myself appreciating the food more because I wasn't so focused on how much the flavor was pleasing me or not, but more on that He was the Provider of it. This whole experience also helped me to understand more deeply the concept of fasting: although I may not have been depriving myself of food, I was being "treated" to a "flavor fast," which caused me to be less focused on whether I was being sensually pleased and therefore more free to be focused on, filled, and gratified by God. Through the lack of the flavor of the food (and having to surrender my "need" to have my taste buds satisfied), He revealed the supremacy of the savor of Himself:
TASTE and see that THE LORD is good...
Who wants to not be able to enjoy the flavor of food (and drink)? Certainly not me! And probably, I would assume, not many of you. And guess what? God must not have wanted us to go tasteless or flavorless either: He did give us taste buds, right? And I like to think that when God created the Garden of Eden, and placed fruits and vegetables in it for man to eat (Genesis 1:11-12, 29), that these were more succulent and mouth-watering than any morsels we could ever imagine now.
But like so many other things, food and drink (and their tastiness, and for what we use them) often become more important than God, making them a rival to God...making them A god... and this was never meant to be (1 Corinthians 10:31). There are so many competing forces that distract us from truly seeking God (Jeremiah 29:13). One of these is that due to the sin nature, we have become enslaved (Romans 6) to self-gratification (1 John 2:15-17), which so often involves the need...the craving...that one or more of our five senses be indulged. It no longer is a treat to see a beautiful sunrise; we have to surround ourselves with eye-pleasing items that must be periodically replaced because they lose their optical "flavor." We complain if what we hear does not make us feel good in one way or another. And I know in my own life (especially when I am under stress and wanting something...anything to take away the edge...), if something I am eating (or drinking) does not taste just so, I am beyond disappointed. Let's face it, whether the flavor of something satisfies our senses (or not) can in fact all-too-often-and-quickly become a god; a god, however, that serves us. If we are sensually pleased, we keep and praise it; if not, we throw it out. We quickly move from appreciation to whether or not we are being gratified.
So here is where the lesson of the "flavorless food" comes in. Last night I had to eat. My body was telling me I needed nutrition. I was feeling a little shaky. But I couldn't TASTE anything! I didn't want to eat if my taste buds couldn't be satisfied! I ate anyway. And I actually found myself thanking God for tasteless food. Why? Not only because I realized that He was helping sustain my physical body by providing the meal; but more so because I found that He was using the lack of flavor in the food to cause me to focus more on HIM...on His "flavor"...on His Presence. As I chewed the tasteless food and thanked Him for the nutrition it was providing, I actually found myself appreciating the food more because I wasn't so focused on how much the flavor was pleasing me or not, but more on that He was the Provider of it. This whole experience also helped me to understand more deeply the concept of fasting: although I may not have been depriving myself of food, I was being "treated" to a "flavor fast," which caused me to be less focused on whether I was being sensually pleased and therefore more free to be focused on, filled, and gratified by God. Through the lack of the flavor of the food (and having to surrender my "need" to have my taste buds satisfied), He revealed the supremacy of the savor of Himself:
TASTE and see that THE LORD is good...
Interestingly, the loss of taste lasted only until the next day: long enough for me to have this experience...and to be able to share it with you. May the lesson linger, though, that "tasting" God is so much more important and satisfying than whether the eyes, ears, nose, taste buds, or sensory nerves are being gratified. He does want them to be pleased; but always so that through the pleasure we receive, we can taste and see...Him. 
In His Love,
Terri
