“O taste and see that the Lord is good; how blessed is the man (woman) who takes refuge in Him.” – Psalms 34:8.
I awoke the other morning thinking of that verse and remembering my good friend Tally Tatman who passed away years ago. That was a favorite verse of hers, and it makes me happy to remember certain friends when I read verses that they loved. It always seems to make the verse more special.
As I thought of that verse the other day, though, it seemed to represent something totally different in my own life. Since I had Covid last November I haven’t been able to taste or smell many things in my life. I’ve tried vitamins and other remedies that are supposed to help, but so far nothing has brought back my sense of taste or smell except for small amounts at times. I can slightly taste some fruits and vegetables and sense salt and sugar, but it has diminished my joy in eating and made it more important to pay attention to my cooking so that the food will be seasoned well. I’ve lost some weight because of it, which hasn’t hurt my feelings at all, but I have to remember to eat healthy foods so that I stay healthy and strong and am able to keep up my busy schedule.
As I pondered that verse, I began to realize how much it applied to my spiritual walk with the Lord. Right after I prayed to receive Jesus as my Savior and asked Him to be Lord of my life, I was so excited to continue to learn about Him and what the Bible had to say about how to live my life that I couldn’t stand to miss a day of my Quiet Time and prayer. It gave me the strength to meet many challenges over the years and allowed me to have joy in our relationship no matter what was going on in my life at the time. Over the years, though, there have been times when I’ve gotten so busy, I have neglected my Quiet Times and I realize that the busyness has pushed out the joy I usually have, and the desire to spend time with God. My separation from God gives sin an opportunity to tempt me to make hasty decisions without taking time to pray about them. My life doesn’t have the peace it usually does, and my strength lessens. The other morning as I was writing in my Spiritual Notebook about this, I noticed the verse on the page was “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” – Nehemiah 8:10. God was pointing out I was on the right track! My strength and my joy come from Him, and that comes from time spent with Him and His Word. His Word supplies the Spiritual nutrition my soul needs each day!
Malachi 3:7 – “Return to me and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.” It’s really as simple as that. As I read my Bible and daily devotional it’s amazing how much peace returns, and God is able to guide me to the solutions of so many of my problems. He gives me the strength and peace to deal in an imperfect world and still have joy in my heart knowing He is guiding me and directing my steps.
One of the ways God teaches me is to stop me when I come to a verse that really speaks to me. I stop and ponder the verse or the words that stand out to me and I ask God what He has for me to learn from that verse. I usually write it in my journal so that I won’t forget where it was, or I write it on an index card to put up next to the sink so I can think about it some more. If it’s in a devotional I will sometimes tear it out and tape it in my journal. It’s amazing to see how God will continue to guide you as you become more aware of His leading. And always remember, He created you, He loves you, and He wants what is best for you.
Psalm 26:3,4 – “The steadfast of mind Thou wilt keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in Thee. Trust in the Lord forever, for in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.”
