“Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” – Psalm 34
There is great joy and satisfaction and fullness in tasting the Lord. The Lord is not meant simply to be learned about by studying the Bible or praying; no, no, no – the Lord is meant to be consumed; He is meant to be internalized, taken into your system, felt with your senses as you yield yourself to His mighty power and the Holy Spirit. God is meant to be experienced, tasted – the Bible says, God is meant to be there to feed your soul, heart, mind, body and spirit.
The Bible says: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”
But how can you taste Him if you don’t invite Him into your life?
One of the big things that Somalis don’t do, either because they haven’t been told or for some other reason – is to invite Jesus Christ and God into their lives. God wants to have a friendship with you; God wants to be your friend; God wants to fill you with supernatural power so that you can experience what the Bible says: “In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there is joy forever.” – Psalm 16:11
Yes. God is real. God is an ever present help in times of trouble – God makes you feel good. God is not just some character in a book that you can read about, some dry and old concept who is a million miles away.
No….”But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart,” – Deuteronomy 30:14
Praise His Holy, Holy name!
God feeds our souls
This is what Jesus said:
“I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” – Revelation 3:20
Do you want to have a feast of peace? Ask Jesus Christ into your life. Do you want to be filled with joy? Then open the door of your heart and ask Jesus to come into your life – He will be your feast, He will be your joy, He will fill your heart, mouth, and soul with joy and peace so that you will be singing in your heart all day long.
Do you want to get rid if depression? Ask God to come into your life. Do you want to be free from alcohol addiction? Then open the door of your heart and let Jesus come inside and you will be filled with joy, peace, power, courage – you will have a new song in your heart; you will become a new creation in Christ; you will be born again from above by the power of the Holy Spirit. You will never want to give up what you have because you will have it all through Christ and the power of His Spirit.
God meets us where we need him
Have you ever had something to eat and said “That hit the spot.” Have you ever been so thirsty that you had something to drink and said “Ahh…that felt great.” Once I was on a mission’s trip and we didn’t have much to eat or drink, when I got on the plane to come home I kept ordering orange juice and drank it saying “Oh, this feels great.” Even today, over 20 years later I still thank God for every cup of water I drink.
Well ,God meets you where you most need Him. Are you discouraged and depressed? God will give you courage and joy. Are you lonely? God will fill you with His presence and you will not feel alone anymore. Are you afraid? God has given us the Spirit and power of a sound mind, filled with peace and joy – He will fill you will joy and courage to share His name around the world.
Just like a good meal that hits the spot – God hits the spot with His presence and His Holy Spirit – but you need to ask Him in; you need to invite Him in.
Maybe you’ve been listening to too many Calvanists who are afraid to say “You need to invite God into your life.” Well I’m not a Calvanist, I’m a Biblist, and the Bible says
“Taste and see that the Lord is good.”
So go ahead, taste the Lord. Open your heart to Jesus Christ and His Spirit and invite Him in. Let Him enter your body, soul and mind and fill you with His presence. Let Him saturate you with His Spirit, open your mind, body and soul to Christ and let Him flood you like a tsunami of love, and joy and peace.
This is real. These are not figurative words, or images, or symbols. God is real. You can feel Him and taste Him in your being.
Maybe that is what’s wrong with so many Somali Christians – they have never tasted and experienced the power of the joy and peace that comes from God’s Spirit – well today for some of you that is going to change.
Touch him
When you eat something you have to touch it. You need to pick it up with your fingers, or put it to your mouth, and your taste buds feel the sensations and flavours. You tongue is covered with many taste buds; and you have been created to taste the Lord in your soul. So ask Him into your life and let Him water your soul.
The Bible says:
“As the deer pants for the water, So my soul longs after You, O God.” – Psalm 42:1
Yes, that’s it. Just like someone in the desert who is parched and thirsty and dying to get some water, so my soul thirsts after the presence of the Lord. Jesus said: “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
The Holy Spirit is like water; you need to drink Him and consume Him and have Him enter you body so that you will have living waters flowing through you; once you receive the Holy Spirit you will experience the greatest joy and feeling you could ever imagine and will want more and more of Jesus in your life: you will not care that you are persecuted because you will have the pearl of great price – Jesus Christ Himself.