Psalm 34:8: “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good…”

This statement might seem strange if you try to analyze it intellectually. How can you taste God? You can’t exactly put Him in your mouth to see what He tastes like. Yet you can taste God with your Spirit.  You can hunger and thirst for Him, and you can taste His presence spiritually. And once you really do, you will never be satisfied with another “dry” service or “dry” personal life that is devoid of His tangible presence.

Many Christians today, including many “faith people”, are no longer tasting and seeing that the Lord is good.  They limit themselves to a more intellectual approach to God. God is the author of your intellect, but He didn’t give it to you to be a substitute for satisfying your spirit. Some people seem to think that all they need is to hear God’s Word.  Please understand that you do need to hear God’s Word regularly, but you’ll dry up if your experience in the Word isn’t supplemented with experiencing the awesome presence of God!  The best place to experience the presence of God is corporately, where believers gather in His name. You will be able to “taste” the presence of God in a way you won’t ever fully do by yourself. However, it is important to abide in the Vine on a personal level too.

Pastor Rosie used to be an alcoholic.  (That’s right, we don’t believe the lie that says “Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic” and we certainly won’t compound the problem by confessing “I’m an alcoholic” at meetings! We believe in “Once an alcoholic, now set free forever from it by Jesus Christ!”  There is freedom in the name of Jesus that you will not find in the name of a generic Higher Power, however you understand Him to be.) She got a taste for alcohol, and the more she tasted it, the more she wanted it until she was addicted to it.  She tasted and thought it was good, so she kept having more.

But then she found that God tasted better! You can taste and see how good He is, and once you do, you want more and more and more. You become a God addict, and that’s a good addiction!

But this addiction is not shared by many churchgoers today.  Most churches in America have services where there is no tangible presence of God in manifestation, only intellectual dissertations about some aspect of the Bible (or in some places, not even anything to do with the Bible anymore). That just doesn’t cut it for me. I couldn’t stand going to service after service where you can’t discern the presence of God! God’s presence is everywhere, but it isn’t tangible everywhere! Call me emotional if you want, but I like to feel the presence of God! There’s nothing like the glory of God coming into a service. I’ve tasted and seen, and it’s good! The reason God doesn’t manifest Himself in power in most churches is that they have lost their taste for Him.  Since they don’t even remember what He tastes like anymore, they are content not to taste Him at all, and they just kind of muddle along, going nowhere in their own strength and wisdom.

If I had never tasted a chocolate glazed doughnut, I would not necessarily want one. But after having one, now I know how yummy they are, and I have a taste for them.  (I really don’t eat them often, by the way, though if I could do so and not wreck myself nutritionally, I probably would.)

God promises to fill those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.  He promises to pour out on him who is thirsty.  Are you thirsty for the presence of God like a deer panting for water? If you aren’t, God has not promised to pour out anything on you.  If you’re not hungry and thirsty, God has not promised to fill you.  God says that you will find Him when you seek Him with all your heart.  He has not promised that you will get anything if you seek Him half-heartedly.  God is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. If you don’t seek Him diligently, He has not promised any reward. There is no shortcut.  I don’t have a way to walk in His best if you want your experiences with Him to be microwave fast. But if you will hunger and thirst for HIM, you will be filled beyond anything you can imagine.