3. Sensing God: Tasting the Feast of Yahweh
3. Sensing God: Tasting the Feast of Yahweh.
“Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who trust and take refuge in Him. (Psalm 34:8).
The only way to taste God is to try trusting in Him, to make even a small effort to take refuge in Him. Once one gets a flavor of His goodness and grace, one will never return to standard fare. Participating in the presence of God will go far in developing a life-giving hunger and thirst for more of Him. It all starts with taking a taste of the feast offered in Yahweh. Satisfaction is guaranteed and you will yearn for more. “Like newborn babies, thirst for pure spiritual milk so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted the goodness and kindness of the Lord.” (1 Peter 2:2-3).
A Balanced Meal. The feast of Yahweh is a balanced meal between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in equal portions. Believers need to look no further from that diet if tempted to try more exotic foods. Buddha won’t work for dessert, or secular humanism for a salad, or any Hindu gods for the condiments. The Trinity diet is the only meal that satisfies one’s hunger pangs for truth. Anything is else is just a temporary fad diet.
Slow Food. God is not a fast-food meal. God is a sit-down dinner, and believers eat a wholesome diet of sacred slow food. Taking God into one’s life unthinkingly, gulping too quickly, will not be sufficient for one’s spiritual nutrition. So that’s not the way God is meant to be taken. When tasting the Lord, take your time, think about it, chew slowly. Think while you eat. That will aid your digestion of the truth and allow God to become a part of your very being from head to toe. Gulping God without reason or thought will result in God not have the lasting effect you want in your life. After each taste of God, put your fork down, chew thoughtfully, with a little soul searching, and join in a meaningful conversation around the table.
Comfort Food. Sometimes God is not a Happy Meal. There are times when, after tasting God, one has ashes in the mouth and sorrow in the heart. For God joins in the sorrows of the world. His heart breaks when He looks at the brokenness of sin, the consequences of evil, the grief of the bereaved. There are plenty of reasons to lament in this world, and God laments right along with us. But God has promised that those who mourn will be comforted (Matt. 5:3). When trusting God in the midst of grief, we need to remember that we will sigh with satisfying relief when our hearts are broken by the profound pain of loss, shame or sin. We are then most blessed and highly fortunate! For we are not alone in our sorrow. God is with us. The deeper our sorrow, the more room there is for God’s healing presence and tender grace.
Eat His Words. God speaks through actions, and fortunately He also speaks with words. One sure way to taste God is to digest His words, His Word. “When your words were found, I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart. For I am called by your name, O Lord God Almighty.” (Jeremiah 15:16). “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it. ‘So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.'” (Ezekiel 3:1-3). After all, we can’t survive on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of Yahweh. (Deut. 3:2-3). The Word of God is an integral part of the Person of God. Scripture contains the ultimate truth, and so is the only nutritious food for the soul. Feast on the Word, and grow in the Faith.
Communion. The ultimate way to taste God is through the Eucharist. It unites spiritual presence with earthly matter. Through Communion we participate in the life and death of Jesus Christ. We literally consume the bread and wine and thus taste His broken body and spilt blood. The Eucharistic feast is a meal of thanksgiving, inspiring us to participate in God’s life, and is a powerful reminder of our salvation and restoration. Communion is spiritual food for spiritual growth, like an intimate candlelight supper, joining around the table with Christ, to further our relationship with the Host. Communion is the Church’s required family meal.
“You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy.” (Psalm 63:5).