TASTE AND SEE
Ps. 34:4-8
“I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”
Fear is part of human life. We don’t know what the future holds and so we are anxious about it. But fear is a weight that holds us back and keeps us from achieving what we might. Fear has the unbelievable power to paralyze the strong and mute the wise. Because of fear we let our dreams fade and our achievements with them. But Christian, even as Paul reminded Timothy, I remind you: “God didn’t give us a spirit of fear but a spirit of power, love, and good judgment” (2 Tim. 1:7). He does not want His people crippled and controlled by fear . . . the clear message from God is: “Fear not!” So how can such a powerful force as fear be overcome? The Psalmist has given us the answer. “I sought the LORD,” he says. And what happened? “He answered me and delivered me from all my fears.”
In this same passage, God’s Word presents us with a clear challenge: “Taste and see.” Just try me, says the Lord, and see if what I say is true. When fear grabs you in its icy clutches, when it grips your heart and takes your breath away, pray. Pray for courage. Pray for the courage to test and to try. Pray for the courage to believe and to do.
I tell you, the wise man seeks God, not as a last resort, but first. Why? Because he knows: “Blessed in the man who takes refuge in Him.”
Pastor Keith Andrews