Dear Amy,

How can we obey a command if we don’t know what it means?

Obviously we can’t, it’s a rhetorical question. What of this then?

Taste and see that the LORD is good.

― Psalm 34:8

This is clearly an instruction to do something. It’s a command. Notice that David could have written, Behold! The Lord is good (because he is). That’s a true statement, but it’s not what he wrote. What he wrote, rather, is something we are commanded to do. Taste! And see! Let’s think about this.

Tasting is an action. There is something to do. Physically, we put food in our mouths and chew on it. As an aside, how gracious of the Lord to make this a pleasurable experience. We are really just refueling our bodies. Who else would have decided to make that something to enjoy? The Lord’s character is revealed even in this, that he found yet another way to bless us, his beloved. Praise him!

This gives us some insight. We experience the goodness of God as a result of taking some action. What action is that?

It seems to me that more than any other the word that appears alongside the goodness of God throughout scripture is trust, that those who would see his goodness must trust, in his unfailing love, in his mercy, in all he is and all he has done. Grab a concordance and see for yourself! This very verse continues “blessed is the one who takes refuge in him”.

If we would taste and see, we must then trust and depend. This makes sense. When we fully commit to depending on the Lord, such that we are not trying to control our own outcome, only then may we see the goodness of God, because only then have we left him space in which to show us that goodness. As we relinquish control over our own lives, may we learn to chew on and genuinely savour the goodness of God that he reveals to us.

Trust and depend, Amy, taste and see, and leave the Lord space to show you his goodness! 🙏