Bon Appétit

"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him." [Psalm 34:8]

“Close your eyes and open your mouth.”

How many people in your life have the ability to pull off this request? One thing is for sure: for me to submit to that command, there must be a serious level of trust. Even if there’s no doubt that they love me implicitly, as I’m slowly consenting to their “surprise,” I’m also simultaneously scanning my memory banks for potential paybacks.

What’s coming? A chocolate-covered strawberry or some stealth wasabi and an insidious snicker?

He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry soul with good things. [Psalm 107:9]

Some of us have wandered so long in the Land of Just Enough, feeding on manna and quail, it’s hard for us to believe in that place of promise, where our deepest longings — not just our needs — will be satisfied. A land flowing with milk and honey.

The Lord's been faithful. He's met our needs, and we're thankful. But if He were to tell us "Close your eyes and open your mouth," we would assume He’s got a shot of medicine in store for us, or, at best, something as decadent as a hermetically-sealed M.R.E. Something that's for our own good or our survival.

Why do we have such a problem trusting Him for more than the bare minimum? Maybe it’s that we’ve gotten too much like a woman who explained to me why she was once a Christian and now wasn’t anymore.

“Too much stick, not enough carrot,” she said. She told me how she felt like receiving the best God had to give was a fruitless and frustrating exercise not unlike picking the combination lock on a safe. I'm certain that she missed the point (eternal life is 'carrot' enough, no?). But I did understand the sentiment. It was the same thinking that ruined my golf game — head down, left arm straight, forearms release at impact ... crap, in the water again.

The key to God's lavish goodness isn't a formula. It has nothing to do with us getting it all 'right.' He delights in us.

Funny thing about taste. Unlike hearing, sight, touch, it’s a non-essential. We could skip right past taste and still receive nourishment. For that matter we could forgo a passionate kiss and still fulfill our duty to populate the earth. But God says it's ALL good — the essentials and the incidentals.

With eyes closed, trusting that He has more for you than your daily bread, accept His invitation ... “Taste.” After a moment on your tongue, your eyes will burst open and He'll say, “See?”