See and Taste the Goodness of the Lord
See and Taste the Goodness of the Lord
“Taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lacks nothing.
The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Psalm 34 : 8-10
King David was able to write the Psalm above after experiencing deliverance from the Lord from one of the darkest days of his life. David is about to become the King of Israel. But King Saul would not relinquish the throne. Instead he set out schemes to kill David. But again and again David was delivered.
But one day David thought of himself as it is written in I Samuel 27:1;
“One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of Philistines. “
This thought still came to David despite the fact that he has experienced God’s deliverance several times already in his life. As Christians sometimes during storms of life we are still tempted to doubt if God will deliver us considering the fact that he has already delivered us several times before.
So David lived in the land of Philistine a year and four months. Achish son of Maoch king of Gath gave David the town Ziklag. This was one of the darkest times in David’s life, living in an enemy’s territory, the time when he lived away from the will of God.
In this land, David earned his living by raiding towns. David and his men raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites.Whenever David attacked an area he did not leave a man or woman alive but took sheep and cattle, donkeys, camels and clothes.And such was his practice as long as he lived in the Land of Philistine. He lived the life of a bandit. He had been a destroyer.
One day the Amalekites raided Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, and had taken captive the women and all who were in it, both young and old.. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.
When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him, each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters.But David once again found strength in the Lord his God.
David and his men pursued the Amalekites. David succeeded in pursuing them and recovered everything that were taken iincluding his two wives. Nothing was missing, young or old, boy or girl. plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back.
Now the Philistines fought against Israel., the Israelites fled before them. The Philistines killed Saul’s sons . The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically. Saul took his own sword and fell on it. So Saul and his three sons and all his men died together that same day.
In the time of his great distress and when there is no one to encourage him, David sought the Lord again in his life, and he once again find deliverance . The story of King David is indeed a story of God’s never ending faithfulness, mercy and grace to his beloved.
So King David wrote Psalm 34 out of those very great trial, inviting us, exhorting us to see and taste that the Lord is good. Truly his beloved children have experienced so much of the goodness of the Lord.
As I watched 700 Club Asia last July 7, 2010 , the story of Cris and Myrna caught my attention. Cris and Myrna are blind couple who have tasted much of the Lord’s goodness.
When Cris and Myrna married, Myrna’s family was against such action so Myrna’s family treated the couple unlovingly.. Despite this, the couple did not harbor bitterness and remained loving to them, Cris and Myrna’s life as a couple have so much trials. There were times that they have only salt or soy sauce as viand . They work as massage therapists in a massage clinic. But one day the couple found themselves out of work when the massage clinic closed down.
Another severe trial happened when Myrna got a severe ailment and needed much money for her medication. During these difficult situations of sickness and joblessness. The couple lifted up their situation to the Lord and prayed unceasingly.
Truly the Lord hears from Heaven. Myrna’s churchmates and former massage clients were able to raise large amount of money for Myrna’s medical treatment. After the needed medical treatment, Myrna got healed. Another blessing happened when the Lord made a provision for Cris and Myrna to be able to put up their own massage clinic.Now the couple owned a massage clinic and do not need anymore to work in somebody’s massage clinic.
Finally Myrna’s family accepted her husband Cris after years of cold treatment. Truly the couple Cris and Myrna just like King David, after severe trials of life have tasted and seen that the Lord is good.
Are you undergoing severe trial right now ? Don’t give up your faith. Continue holding on to the Lord , continue seeking and trusting him. Never give up praying. For one day your deliverance will come and you will taste and see that the Lord is good.
