One of the joys of travel for me involves trying new food. Sometimes I eat things just because they’re weird and I’m a tourist, like deep fried scorpions on a stick (they crunch like popcorn hulls), But normally I find a table featuring fresh, local cuisine to sample. A major part of experiencing and enjoying and remembering a place involves tasting.

David encourages us to taste and see that the Lord is good. I mostly think of experiencing the Lord through other senses. I read the Bible and ponder the Lord. I walk paths in the mountains and feel the breeze and watch the sky. Recently on a hike I heard pines creaking and whistling as the wind pushed them back and forth.

Taste involves a deeper commitment. I see and hear and feel things with the outside of my body, but tasting requires putting something into my mouth—ingesting it. What if it tastes awful and I spit it out? Or, what if it tastes sweet but is actually poisonous? What if is carries pathogens that make me sick (like the tiny little silver fish I ate in Malaysia that wreaked havoc in my bowels)?

One more concern—what if what I taste is addictive? When David invites us to taste and see that the Lord is good, I believe that’s exactly what he had in mind. When you ingest the words and ways of the Lord, when your soul tastes of His goodness, you’ll want more.

You’ll get hooked.

Occasionally certain dishes return to mind, like a fantastic pasta finished in a wheel of parmesan I enjoyed once in San Diego. Although out of my reach, it lingers in my memory. If I ever get close to that restaurant again, I’ll go get me some more. That’s the type of tasting David hopes you and I experience.

Taste and see that the Lord is good—then dip in for seconds.

Psalm 34 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022