Tasting God’s Goodness

This week in Sunday School, the teacher gave an illustration that was so good, I had to share it with you.

Imagine someone tells you they are preparing a delicious dinner for you. You might spend the day thinking about all the dishes you find most delicious, anticipating and speculating what might be on the menu for that evening’s meal.The time comes at last, and your host brings out his or her favorite dish—but one that doesn’t fall anywhere near your list of foods that are delicious to you.

The problem isn’t the food itself, or the host’s intentions, but rather each person’s definition of what “delicious” means.

Now, think of that in terms of God’s character. He is good, He is wise, He is kind—and yet, we so often develop our own expectations of what that will mean in the context of our lives. But God is the one who should be defining our expectations of His nature and character.

This illustration was given in the context of God’s grace given in the midst of temptation, but as I thought about it, a verse came to mind:

“O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.” Psalm 34:8

Did you know our perception of how something tastes can change over time? More specifically, our taste for what is good and healthy can be developed and improved.I have been working on learning to enjoy vegetables for quite some time now, and have found that most days I actually prefer a healthy meal made at home—vegetables and all—over a meal from a restaurant or fast food place.

But here’s the catch: if I eat fast food several times in a week, my tastes revert back and the healthy food at home seems less appealing.

Has the food changed? Not at all. But my perception and enjoyment of it has.

It’s the same with the Lord. The more we spend time with Him, the more we read His Word and take it to heart, the more we “taste” His goodness in the hard things of life. But like Peter walking to Jesus on the water, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus. The moment we let the world, or Satan’s lies, or our own sinful flesh get our focus off the Lord, the duller our perception of His goodness becomes.

We lose our taste for His goodness—or at least, we redefine what goodness should taste like.

The same holds true for any aspect of God’s nature. We see God in our lives as we spend time letting Him shift our definitions of His character and how it is displayed in our lives and the lives of those around us. When we neglect or rush mindlessly through our time with God each day, we are choosing spiritual “fast food” that will dull our taste for real relationship with God. By neglecting our spiritual nutrition, we are making ourselves vulnerable to false perceptions of who God is.

So, dear Reader, how does God’s goodness taste to you today? His mercy? His grace? How is the Holy Spirit calling you to “taste and see” today?

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” 1 Peter 2:2-3