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| Photo courtesy of tifachocolate.com |
Many times throughout the Scriptures, we as believers are exhorted to "taste and see" that the Lord is good. I remember reading this in Psalm 34:8,
"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!"
And more recently, I stumbled upon the same image in the call of Ezekiel the prophet...
"And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house. 'But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.' And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe. And he said to me, 'Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.' So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. And he said to me, 'Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.' Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey." -- (Ezekiel 2:7-3:3)
So what does this tasting thing really mean? What is required of us when we taste something? As I was pondering this concept over in my mind, a few things began to materialize for me.
I realized that when we taste something...we have to first slow down. We have to take a time out of our day and slow down enough to fully experience something.
Secondly, we have to be open and receive. It is a personal thing that we can only do for ourselves. I can't taste something for you. Sure, I can try my best to describe it for you, but I can't truly do the tasting for you--that is something you have to experience for yourself. There is a vulnerability that must occur--a trust. My daughter, who has a severe peanut allergy, must trust me when I tell her that the cookies I have prepared do not have any peanuts in them. As she trusts, she opens herself up to receive and taste the delicious cookie for herself!
And just like that cookie, God has assured us that His Word, His Truth, tastes GOOD. It fact, it contains all we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Even when God's Words were hard and difficult, and contained news of judgement and discipline for God's chosen people, the scroll Ezekiel tasted was still as sweet as honey.
You see, when we take in God's Word and experience it for ourselves like our daily food, it nourishes us, it energizes us...and it ultimately changes us, causing us to grow to be more like Him!
So when we are faithful to slow down and open ourselves to receive God's Word, He is faithful to fill us through the context of our relationship with Him--
"I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it." --Psalm 81:10
And this dish, you will NOT want to miss!
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