Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. —Psalm 34:8
If you’ve practiced Lent this season, technically you’re just about done! Apparently, as I just learned, Lent ends today - Maundy Thursday - not Easter Sunday. So, whether you choose to eat that cookie and drink that soda today or wait until Easter is up to you. Either way, whatever you’ve given up for the last 40+ days is about to re-enter your life…
If you gave up sweets, get those cookies ready.
If you gave up soda, get ready to hear the pop-fizz.
If you committed to writing, get ready to have oodles of time away from your computer.
If you committed to reading something, get ready to feel a little empty-handed without that book.
If you gave up complaining… umm, try to keep that going? Yeah, try to keep that going.
Whatever you’re about to re-introduce into your life, remember the refuge you’ve taken in the Lord these last 44 days. Remember that when we can’t taste and see what we are used to when it comes to finding things that fill us up, bring us joy, or make us happy, your heavenly Father loves you so much and His goodness is always ready for you. Always.
To me, God’s goodness shows up in a million different ways for us every day. I wrote about it in another Lent post, but I’ll write a few of my own examples again:
A child’s laughter.
Anyone’s laughter, really.
The kind words of a loved one.
The kind words of a stranger.
Someone letting you into their lane with enough time not to rush into your exit lane.
Someone making you dinner.
The sunshine on a day you were bummed the forecast called for rain.
A book suddenly being available at the library.
A compliment from your boss.
To me, all of those little nuggets of goodness are God’s way of saying I see you and I love you. He uses us as the vessel to show each other that goodness because we’re here on earth and we’re what each other can tangibly see and hear.
In order to see it, though, we have to take refuge in Him. We have to carry our burdens to Him, we have to ask Him to carry us and our hearts and our souls and our spirits. When we transfer everything to Him, what we carry isn’t so heavy and maybe our heart’s eyes are a bit clearer. And maybe with clearer vision we’ll more easily taste and see that the Lord is good.
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Tell me about you: Is it easy for you to taste and see that the Lord is good? What does that mean in your daily life?