Taste and see.

There have been times in life when I am wholly consumed with what I should be doing.  I strain and I strain in an attempt to be exactly where God wants me.  I dissect every detail hoping that I have not missed God or that my heart is right.  And in analyzing every facet of my relationship with our Lord, I forget to enjoy our Lord.  Perhaps you do this too.

Our God is good.  Our God is so very good. 

And I cannot help but smile as I write this because even when I do not feel God’s goodness, I cannot deny it.  And you cannot deny it.

God has called us to an abundant life in Him.  That life to which our Lord has called us is only abundant because our God is abundance.  I cannot deny that the more I rest in our Lord, the more apparent our Lord’s goodness and the more abundant my life.  But, this requires that we take time to enjoy God.

Our relationship with God easily becomes a chore.  We quickly forget how lovely the God that we serve.  While our relationship with God is not solely based on emotion, we can enjoy God despite our emotions because our enjoyment is premised on God’s goodness.  God’s goodness is unchanging. 

We are not called to stand by and passively adopt the truth that God is good.  We are called to taste and see; we are called to experience God’s goodness.  And we experience that God is good when we enjoy our God.  And by enjoyment, I mean taking pleasure in God.  And how you enjoy God is distinct to you.  For some, this may mean resting in God.  For others, this may mean praising God.  Our God is certainly good whether we take time to enjoy Him, but taking time to enjoy our God reminds us of why our God is good.

Let us enjoy our Lord.  Let us stop struggling step after step to get to where we think we should be.  Our Lord is good, and our Lord is kind.  And I know I am being redundant, but it is too important to leave unaddressed.

If you do not stop straining, you will not enjoy His goodness.  And if you do not enjoy the goodness of our Lord, you will continue straining.  Because until you appreciate the goodness of our Lord, you will perpetually be dragged down by an oppressive perception of God that a limited reality from this broken world creates.  You must go to God to experience the full reality of His goodness; you must go to God to be released from the yoke you have placed on yourself.  We too easily forget.  And we wonder why so many walk around unexcited about our Lord.

We must taste and see.

I am concerned that you are burdened because you have bridled yourself with duties devoid of joy in Christ.  One who fails to enjoy our Lord will easily forget the joy that comes with serving a good God. This is not the life to which Christ has called you.  

For me, I enjoy the Lord when I praise Him.  I enjoy the Lord when I make it only about our Lord and not about me clawing at my flaws or requesting something of God.  While there is certainly a time for conviction and a time for petition, thanking God reminds me of His goodness in my life.  As of late, Psalm 34 has expressed my joy in God that my heart could not articulate. 

I pray you find your Psalm 34.  I pray you enjoy our Lord.  Rest in Him.  Delight in His presence.  Be filled with His joy.  Relish the security.  Praise God that He is the abundance to which we are called.

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”  (Psalm 34:8 NIV).

“I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.”  (Psalm 34:1 NIV).

“They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.  The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.  The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.”  (Psalm 14:7-9 NIV).

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”  (Psalm 27:13, 14 NIV).

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  (Romans 8:28 NIV).

Hello, Valentine.  February is my favorite. 

Much love to you,

Paige