AN INSIDE LOOK

In light of my new book, CRAVING, I wanted to provide a small sample of what you can expect, while still leaving you with a challenge to think on over the weekend.

Psalm 34:8 - Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

"Being a bit of a bookworm and also a fan of research, I often find myself digging in Scripture for what the Bible really says. When I read the Bible, I normally read it with the intention of looking up words in the Hebrew or Greek in order to get a solid understanding of that word. With this in mind, I decided to look more in depth at the Hebrew words here in Psalm 34:8, the words ‘taste’ and ‘see’.

Taste – TA’AM – to taste, eat, perceive

See – RA’AH – to see, look at, inspect, consider

In looking at just these first two words it becomes clear that David is encouraging us to both eat of the Lord and inspect the Lord. Why? Because as the phrase continues, he wants us to perceive just how good, how pleasant, how excellent (TOWB in the Hebrew) the Lord really is.

When I decided to go to college I chose a school in Oklahoma. I wasn’t trying to get away from my family who lived 2600 miles away in California, it just so happened that this school was where I felt God calling me to attend. But beings that my family was not abundant in finances, I was not able to inspect and explore the campus in person beforehand. Instead, the knowledge I had of the school was based on what I read in pamphlets, heard from current and past students, and saw on the school’s daily prayer show.

When I finally arrived at the school, there was so much more to be experienced. The buildings were bigger than I had pictured in my mind. The campus itself was bigger. The student life was abundant with clubs and organizations I had not even fathomed. And as I walked the sidewalks between the classes, dorms, cafeteria, chapel, and library, I began to take in for myself the fullness of this place. I began to see then how both my imagination and the reports of others failed in comparison. In this case, what I saw was becoming my knowledge of the school instead of the knowledge of someone else.

I can attest this same concept in some ways to the birth of my children. While my children were both in the womb, I did not know them fully. I knew I was having a child, but with both we did not know the gender till the actual delivery. With both there was that feeling of excitement in the air. But the details were not known. Would the baby be a boy or girl? Would the baby have brown hair, blonde hair, or no hair? Would the child be colic, or would the child be one to rarely fuss? As long as the child was in the womb, these questions could not be answered. I could only wonder. However, once the birth happened I was then able to begin to know the child for myself. And this is what God is wanting of us – to know Him for ourselves.

I am reminded of Moses also. Moses became the channel of communication between God and the people. But this was never supposed to have been. In Exodus 20:18-19 we read, When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.’ God wanted a relationship with His people, to talk directly with them, but they refused a relationship with Him. Instead, their whole experience in the desert was based on Moses’ relationship with God as opposed to their own personal relationship. While they may have been hungry and thirsty to get out of Egypt, they did not appear to be hungry and thirsty enough to seek God for themselves."

Thank you for allowing me to share this portion with you, but as I said in the beginning, I want to leave you also with a challenge for the weekend. First I would question of you, how hungry and thirsty for God are you? Have you tasted and seen for yourself how good God is? Do you find yourself craving God and all He has? Or are you, like the Hebrews, hungry and thirsty only to leave your situation but not to have a relationship with God? Take some time to think about it this weekend.

If you would like a free ebook copy of CRAVING in exchange for your written review of the book, please email me at: danonthevanguard@yahoo.com