Oh, Taste and See the Joy of Jesus Christ!

What is your favorite restaurant? You know that place where your all-time favorite food is served. For me... it is Olive Garden! We love the all-you-can-eat soup, salad and bread sticks. I love the Zuppa Toscana. It is like, "Manna from Heaven." You can't get enough of it. What Zuppa Toscana is to my stomach, Psalm 34:8 is to my spirit. I can't get enough of it. Psalm 34:8a has been a wonderful blessing in my life. My aim is to break this verse down for "Spiritual Food" and that you would start to taste and see the Joy of Jesus Christ. The first word is "Oh" I love that word. It literally means in the Hebrew, "OOOOHHHH" It is a cry for our attention. It is like the word "Behold" in the Bible. It is crying for you and I to check Jesus Christ out and what He has for us. The second word is "taste" the Hebrew word is "Ta'am" it means to understand. As a parent, I battle with my kids to eat food that they have not tasted. It does not look the way they think that it should so they refuse to eat it. As a parent, I say, just taste it! How do you know that it is bad unless you taste it? Finally they taste it and they understand that it is good. When it comes to Jesus Christ, we need to taste His goodness, and do what the next to words in the verse tells us, "and see". The word see in the Hebrew is "Ra'ah" literally means to enjoy. There is a lack of enjoying the Savior. To bask in His beauty. Like the next few words, "that the LORD is good!" The name of Jesus in the text is LORD in the Hebrew it is Yahweh literally means the Self-existed One or the One Who is eternally present. Also it can mean "I AM". The One in this text that is good is eternally present in every circumstance. He is transcendent and profound. The point is that we will never be unsatisfied with the heights and the depths of Jesus Christ. He is eternally satisfying. This is the longing of Kind David when he personally needed to change his perspective in his present situation. That brings the application for you and I. David did not need to change his circumstances. This Psalm was written when Ambimelech drove David out of his kingdom. Really, David was being driven out of his comforts in his present circumstances. David knew the solution to his situation was not to change his circumstances. How many times in our lives do we pray that our circumstances change? Or that we would be given a different hand of cards? David's answer to his situation was not to fix the situation, but to change his perspective. You and I desperately need to change our perspective in life. We need to stop our reasoning and start tasting and seeing Jesus Christ is good! We need to remember that our present circumstances have been sovereignly ordained by Him. That is why James said, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meed trials of various kinds."(James 1:2) Add that to the statement, "looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."(Hebrews 12:2). If we tie these two verses together you realize that the situations that we are in are ordained by God, and we can have joy knowing that God is presently orchestrating the circumstances we are facing. That is why David is not trying to change his circumstances. He would be in a sense saying, "God I don't like what you have sovereignly placed into my life, and I will not have joy in Jesus Christ in this situation." What David is saying in Psalm 34:8, "God you have ordained these circumstances, and I am not going to focus on trying to alter these circumstances. Instead, I am going to just enjoy your goodness. I am going to understand and enjoy the goodness of Jesus Christ." Whatever you are facing. Please stop trying to alter the situation. Realize it is from Jesus, have joy in knowing He is in control of it, and just enjoy Him. Think about this... No matter what happens to you today. Good or bad, you are still going to Heaven. Your eternity is set, and in Heaven you are going to taste and see that Jesus Christ is full of goodness. He has a place awaiting you with wonderful pleasures. "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11). Amen? Stop trying to change your circumstances. Start to taste and see that the LORD is good. Only then will you experience the Joy of Jesus Christ. Remember that He is the LORD and He is eternally present. So take the time to taste and see the Joy of Jesus Christ.