Psalm 34:8
“O taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”
Welcome to the first installment of my blog, “Pages from the Psalms.” After I decided to start a blog (which in and of itself was a big leap of faith for me since I don’t consider myself a writer), I spent a lot of time in prayer and reflection as to what to write about.
Now, God doesn’t seem to “speak” to me very often. At least not in that clear, loud voice that I wish He would use. Rather, it’s usually in a nudging or a thought that I have that I take to prayer and reflect on for a while. If it is something that doesn’t go away, but rather keeps coming back to me through reflections or the faith filled people around me, I have learned it is the Holy Spirit leading me and affirming me. It is God “speaking” to me.
The topic of this blog came about in a similar way. It was only through reflection and prayer did I discern that it is precisely through the Psalms that we can learn to pray and draw closer to God in our humanity. I don’t know about you, but the Psalms always seemed foreign to me. It was just that thing that was wedged between the 1st and 2nd readings on Sunday that I often glazed over. Then, at some point, I started to learn where the Psalms came from and how they can be used to express those inmost, raw feelings we have as a prayer to God. I decided to press in and start reading them and boy was I amazed at what I found.
The 150 Psalms cover the vast array of human emotions. When you don’t know how to express yourself to God, know that there is a Psalm for that. They are real, unfiltered pleas to God when we are at our lowest of lows and expressions of thankfulness and praise when we are on a high. They are deeply personal and yet universal in the sense that it reminds us that we have all felt the same feelings at some time, across time. We are all His children searching for answers.
At the moment I decided to write about the Psalms, this particular verse came to me….” taste and see”. But being the novice that I am with scripture memorization, I had to look up exactly which verse this Psalm was. As I read “O taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”, I was instantly reminded of how wonderfully and beautifully made we each are as well as those things He has given to us for His good. Our very selves, including all our senses, are intricately woven together by Him. These senses allow us to taste, see, touch, smell, hear and be in the presence of all the good in the world that He has made. Whether that is slowing down and walking through nature, hearing the birds sing or hearing the laughter of children or smelling flowers blooming in the spring or taking a bite of an apple, savoring the natural sweetness of what He has provided for us on this earth for nourishment…. All of who we are and all we have comes from Him. He welcomes us to Him for rest and rejuvenation. He wants us to present our real, raw selves to Him because let’s face it. He knows us better than we know ourselves. So, we aren’t really hiding anything from Him. If we are, we are only fooling ourselves. So, go ahead and start to taste and see all the goodness He has given to You.
Trusting in His Care,
Christine