THE BEST TASTE OF ALL

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

I will praise the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. I will boast in the Lord; the humble will hear and be glad.

Proclaim Yahweh’s greatness with me; let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant with joy; their faces will never be ashamed.

This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him from all his troubles. The Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them.

Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him! You who are His holy ones, fear Yahweh, for those who fear Him lack nothing. Young lions lack food and go hungry, but those who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing.

Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

Psalm 34:1-11 (HCSB)

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

We all face troubles in life, right?

The cute little saying that has been around for as long as I have been alive is that there are two things certain in life, death and taxes, but I think I would add trouble to that list as well. It’s very rare, if not impossible, for a life to not experience some sort of hardship and challenge.

So what do we do in times of trouble?

If you think about it, there is a buffet table of choices we could pick from, each with their own distinct “taste” or what they can provide us.

We could opt to handle our troubles on our own, relying on our strength, abilities, and resources to get through difficulty.   

We could opt to lean on a family member or friend for help, whether for encouragement, counsel, or for more tangible assistance like hands-on support or financial aid.

And there are any number of external entities we could turn to for help like the church or governmental/ non-profit organizations that can provide relief for the issues we’re dealing with.

Indeed, there are plenty of options we could feed from and sometimes we are using more than one to get through, especially when our predicament is serious. But in saying all this, are we overlooking the option we should choose first, the best option that too often gets overlooked amidst all of the available alternatives the world offers? Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to search across an endless list of possibilities to try and find the one who can provide us help when we need it – all because we already have the best choice ready and waiting to be exercised?  

Thanks be to God that we have Him as our best choice, the number one selection among the assortment of selections we can taste from life’s buffet table of assistance, the best “taste” of all.

We know this because God’s word is truth and His word from the opening verses of the 34th Psalm, effectively frame God as the superior option when we are in times of trouble. There really is no second.

Look at the words of this passage:

I will praise the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. I will boast in the Lord; the humble will hear and be glad.

Proclaim Yahweh’s greatness with me; let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant with joy; their faces will never be ashamed.

This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him from all his troubles. The Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them.

Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him! You who are His holy ones, fear Yahweh, for those who fear Him lack nothing. Young lions lack food and go hungry, but those who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing.

David experienced more than his share of troubles in life, some self inflicted, others not. And yet, despite his hardships, he was so often in a spirit of praise, a praise that overflowed from his soul and poured out on everyone who was around him or read the words he penned.

Yes, as we read this writing from David we find him boasting in the Lord and promising that the humble will hear him and be glad. Why? Because everyone in humble circumstance - and that is all of us because we will all be in need sometime in life – will gain encouragement from how God watched over and delivered David from his times of difficulty. For if God did it for David, He could do the same for them and there was no more powerful source of help in times of trouble than the Almighty God, the Maker of heaven and earth.

So what gave David reason to boast about the Lord? Let’s break it down from his words and in each point look at what God did for him, what God can do for us, and what God’s actions produce in the person who places their faith and trust in Him:

1. “I sought the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant with joy; their faces will never be ashamed.”

There are three parts to this first point.

First, David sought the Lord. He intentionally chose the Lord as his first and best option.

When Moses addressed the Israelites in Deuteronomy, Chapter 4, he assured them with the following words:

“But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 4:29

 

The Lord is there for us when we seek Him and He answers our prayers.

David had his share of needs he lifted up to the Lord, the most basic of which was the need to just survive. Many wanted to kill David for the throne of power he sat on over Israel. But none of them succeeded because God answered David’s cries for help and delivered him from not only his fears, but his enemies. The Lord became David’s Sustainer, and He will do the same for anyone who seeks Him with all their heart and soul. 

So what does this kind of trust produce? When we try the best “taste” of all, the Lord, what “nutritional” (or life sustaining) benefit do we receive?

The answer is joy and not just any joy but a joy that causes our faces to radiate happiness and bliss from what God has done for us. This is what happens when we are relieved from the burden of hardship. Our heavy hearts are left unencumbered and we are liberated to celebrate in the truest sense of ecstasy, not made by man but rather induced by the Lord and His amazing goodness and provision.

2. “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him from all his troubles. The Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them. Happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!”

David, in the midst of his need, cried out for help, and found salvation from the Lord. As his enemies tried to do him in, David knew he couldn’t save himself. Only the Lord could do that. And so David placed his faith and hope in the only One who could truly shield him from harm and rescue him from his foes. And the Lord answered David’s call with angelic protection and rescued him from hard to safety, saved from all his troubles.

Is there any greater happiness when we find our self in calamity and are rescued from it? I know I have never had a better feeling than the feeling of relief from trouble and we will have that feeling every time we, like David, take refuge in the Lord, refuge under the powerful wings of His love and care for all His children He values so greatly. We are indeed sons and daughters of the Almighty Father and Creator, fashioned by His hands. And we need to always keep in mind that God cherishes His handiwork, namely you and me.

3. “You who are His holy ones, fear Yahweh, for those who fear Him lack nothing. Young lions lack food and go hungry, but those who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing.

So why would we turn anywhere else but to God? Who else can do for us what He can?

When we get this, then we hold the Lord in the highest esteem in our life. No one ranks above Him. No other option on our buffet table of possible help looks anywhere near as appealing. We hunger and thirst for the Lord and the Lord alone and, in return, we, like David, find ourselves lacking nothing for we have all we need in the Lord, the Provider of every good and perfect thing for us. In Him, we have everything and we need nothing else. Not now, not ever.     

Friends, there is no doubt that when we “taste” the Lord and sample what He can do for us, we will see each and every time just how good He is to us. We’ll also realize just how good He has been to us all along, over all the years of our lives. For now, then, and in the days yet to come, the Lord is the best “taste” of all. Partake freely of His blessings, feast on His goodness, grace and love, and indulge yourself in His will and way for your life, in good times and in bad.

Yes, life has death and taxes and troubles, but they pale in comparison to the blessedness of the Lord Most High, who rescues and delivers us from death and taxes into a life eternal through our belief in our Savior, His Son Jesus, the Christ.  

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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