Psalm 34: Taste and See

Psalm 34:8a, 10b.. "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! . . .those who seek the Lord lack no good thing."

When's the last time someone asked you to try something? Perhaps it was a new food, a new hobby, or something else. Did you like it? Perhaps you did, or perhaps you didn't. Nevertheless, in Psalm 34, David is asking us to try out the Lord, that is, to "taste and see" that he is good. David is exhorting us to try out the Lord, to taste of his goodness, and to see his great promises, in order that we might find out how with the Lord, we in fact "lack no good thing."

Many times in the Christian walk, we think we're missing out. This world around us tells us that the "ways of this world" that are against "the ways of God" are way more fun. Take marriage and sex, for an easy-to-go-to example. The Bible tells us that marriage is for one man and one woman, and that sex is only to be enjoyed within the covenant of marriage. Although this is God's good plan for us, so often we think that if we do this we'll be "missing out." The culture tells us that its way more fun to "sleep around" than to be committed to one person. Surely all Christians are "missing out" because they're committing themselves to one solitary sexual partner, but are we?

Surely we're not. Although this example is a bit extreme (I wanted to get my point across), how often do we as Christians think that we're "missing out" even in smaller areas? Perhaps its not watching a certain R-rated movie, not drinking excessively, not being able to swear, or not partaking in immodest fashion trends. Often we think that we're "missing out" because we have committed to following God's ways instead of the ways of this world. The ways of this world look fun, but David tells us otherwise: true fulfillment is only found in tasting and seeing that the Lord is good.

Look at the latter part of the verse quoted above. David promises us that as we "taste and see that the Lord is good," that is, as we "see the Lord," we will in fact lack "no good thing." Huh? What? Last time I checked, Christianity and fearing God kept me from a lot of things that I thought were good. God's rules restrict us from so many things that this world tells us are good...but God truly knows what is good. He knows that it is better for you to commit to one spouse, to not be negatively influenced by an R-rated movie, to not get drunk, to not swear, and to not wear immodest clothing. He knows what is best for you, and if you follow him, he promises to not withold from you any good thing.

So, when's the last time you thought you were "missing out" because you were following God's ways and not the world's ways? The Lord surely says otherwise. He says that the people following the world's ways are missing out because they will never have himself, that is, all of the pleasures that go along with having God as our Savior, Lord, and friend. Stop telling yourself that you're missing out, but taste and see that the Lord is good, and lack no good thing.