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Chef’s Surprise: Taste & See
I’m going to cheat a little bit here and not write about food at all. Instead, I’m going to talk about one of my favorite verses in all of Scripture. In fact, I love it so much that it’s in my email signature.
“Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the person who takes refuge in him!”
Psalms 34:8 CSB
(Get it?)
I can personally testify to how good the Lord is, and how happy I am to take refuge in Him:
- He has answered more prayers than I could tell you – including small prayers that I would classify as “silly.”
- He transformed me from an angry, easily irritated person into someone more loving when I finally realized I couldn’t change myself and called on Him for help.
- He has financially provided for me throughout my life, including one time through a car wreck, strangely enough.
- He has opened my eyes to truths of Scripture that I didn’t “get” before.
- His mercy and grace are new every morning – great is His faithfulness! (Lamentations 3:23)
Those are just a few examples! If you are a believer, I hope that this was an encouragement to you to reflect on and give thanks to Jesus for how good He has been to you. If you have not tasted and seen how good the Lord is for yourself, I hope this has planted a seed and that you will. ❤️
Published in Group Writing
I am encouraged by this post.
Yeah. #4 is huge. Life’s passages are difficult to negotiate; certainly any kind of life for Him impossible to steer correctly without the Spirit’s help.
Not a cheat at all, this post plays on the broader sense of “chef’s surprise” as part of our Group Writing Series under the February 2021 Group Writing Theme: “Chef’s Surprise.” Stop by soon, our schedule and sign-up sheet awaits.
Interested in Group Writing topics that came before? See the handy compendium of monthly themes. Check out links in the Group Writing Group. You can also join the group to get a notification when a new monthly theme is posted.
I have a hard won faith, one of inches, not miles. I question God at every term. Being a believer is always hard. Righteousness from me is not rewarded and I have no protection of the wickedness of others. Answers to prayers is “no”. If I rest and let go of worry, I am immediately punished with something bad happening in my life. I do not feel His protection at all. I study Scripture and I am good at understanding it. I practice gratitude for all I do have, and I pray for peace and understanding, but I do not feel His presence often, and I almost never feel secure and safe, and if I do, I pay for that feeling within days. I still believe because I cannot stand the alternative.
I envy you (despite it being a sin), and everyone else like you, who can “let go and let God” and can awake every day feeling Him. I have to fight for every moment.
Thank you for sharing an uplifting message today.
I prayed through that verse in one of my low moments after my grandma died, the election went south, covid took charge and anxiety was taking control of my life. BOOM! God showed his face as never before. He reminded me where my true citizenship was and who my only Lord was. Now, the joy of my salvation has been restored!
I would love to have that sort of experience.
I’m sorry for the discouragement it sounds like you’ve experienced (and still are) – I know God works in different ways in different people’s lives, and I’m sure there are things you’ve learned and ways you’ve grown in Christ that I have not. Also, know that leaving my worries in God’s hands is not always easy for me, either. More often than not, I have to “turn my thoughts captive to obey Christ” over and over again. I am definitely looking forward to that glorious Day when anxiety is a thing of the past, and I’ll just keep holding tightly to Christ until then, by His grace! I did pray for you tonight, and I’ll leave you with another passage that has encouraged me, as well:
Thank you for sharing that! God is so gracious to take our lowest moments and turn them into something beautiful. Your comment makes me think of the end of Philippians 3, where Paul is talking about our citizenship being in Heaven. We all need that reminder!
I spent time in Philippians 4. I started seeking out righteousness to surround myself with (art, entertainment, relationships, books, etc.) It dawned on me that the world was filled with light, not darkness and the darkness could not overcome the light but only appears to do so when I turn away from the light and dwell in the darkness.
Philippians is my absolute favorite book!