I love that the Lord teaches us through metaphors.  He uses our life experience to give us insight into his character and his ways.  I will be reading through the Bible, and a verse will jump out at me because it is so relevant to my circumstances.  Other times, I’ll see a verse that is interesting to me because I can’t immediately understand it, but I hear God encouraging me, “Just think about it a little…”

Our theme for the day is one of those verses that I really had to stop and think about.  “Taste and see that the Lord is good” from Psalm 34:8. If you like to decorate your house with Scripture, this is a great one for the kitchen or dining room!  But what does it mean?

First of all, God is not inviting us to eat him!  Ha ha ha…  Think about the verb he uses: taste.  To try… More than that… To try, savor, and consider whether or not you like it (and it usually takes a few more bites to see if you do like the taste).

Let me take an example from my own life experience.  I have most recently lived overseas for almost a decade – Israel, to be specific.  While living in Israel I got the opportunity to travel to other countries.  I think I stopped counting at thirteen.  Keep in mind, traveling to another country from Israel is like traveling to Kentucky or New York from here!  The furthest I went was Thailand, and that was like traveling to the state of Washington.

One of my favorite things to do when in a new country is to visit the local McDonald’s.  Every country has their own local flavor included on the McDonald’s menu, so I feel like it is a safe way to try something local and see if I am ready for a real local restaurant.  Something about the idea of McDonald’s makes it feel closer to familiar and safe.  My other favorite thing to do in different countries is to visit the grocery store.  Do you know that Pringles sells the flavor, prawn?  Um… Yes… Honestly, it tastes like the flavor they sold in Israel, ketchup.

The game changer for me was the first time I went to Thailand.  The friend I was traveling with came up with the idea to take a cooking class while we were there.  What an amazing experience to have a local insider take you through the farmer’s market and teach you how to cook their unique cuisine!  I had a lot of fun cooking, but when it came time to taste our fare, I wasn’t so sure.  I’m not a big fan of spicy food or wiggly food – or (in Thailand) crunchy food, because that meant it was probably a bug of some sort!  Our cooking instructor, who taught in her own home, encouraged us (more like, bossed us) and said, “Taste! It goooood! You see!”

I am 100% positive she didn’t know she was quoting God!

This is what I realized that day.  I was wary of trying this new food that was just waiting before me because I was worried about what it might be like.  Fear of the unknown?  Fear of the “I tried something like that before and it wounded me”?  But what if the food before me was as tasty (or tastier) than the food I’ve enjoyed up to today?

Ladies, life is complicated.  Life experience has made us wary of trusting others, let alone someone like God whom we can’t fully understand or comprehend.  It could be fear of the unknown, or it could be because we have a bad taste in our mouth from someone else or a traumatic life experience that leaves us feeling utterly abandoned.

Let me paint another scenario.  You’ve had the experience of trying to watch your favorite TV show, but your toddler is saying, “Mommy, look at this. Look at me. Mommy!  Moooooommy!  MOMMY!”  Or going to the movie that you were really excited about and there is someone in front of you being super distracting and annoying.  That’s how life (and people, even the church) can be when you are wanting to see where God fits into the picture.  Girls, we’re only human and trying to grasp the meaning of it all ourselves; yet, because people are only human, they can mess it up and leave a bad taste in your mouth.  But there are also the people who have raved about a show or a movie, and offered to sit next to you and enjoy how much you enjoy it.  They actually guided you to your favorite show ever!  Or your favorite restaurant ever, or to a cooking class in Thailand (to get back to the food metaphor)!

My point is this, God is in front of us – in the midst of this complicated and traumatic world.  He offers us comfort and wisdom and companionship and perspective and healing and truth.  Again, ladies, life is complicated.  Life experience has made us wary of trusting others, let alone someone like God whom we can’t fully understand or comprehend.  It could be fear of the unknown, or it could be because we have a bad taste in our mouth from someone else or a traumatic life experience that leaves us feeling utterly abandoned.

Still…

God is inviting us, “Taste! It gooooood!  You see!”

I am encouraging you… Reach out to someone you feel you can trust, and ask them to walk beside you as you take God up on his invitation!

I shared this devotional at a recent ladies event that I co-hosted with Wood & Limn and Alliance Community Church.  Below are some of the pictures from Girls Day Out.

Thanks for reading!  This is just one of my ways of putting a smile back in the world!