Today I made a new sauce/dressing by mixing some homemade mayonnaise and a honey mustard dressing that I had previously put together. When I got it to just the right blend, the taste was exquisite. It almost made me want to do a little dance. (If you have ever watched the television show, Restaurant Impossible, Chef Irvine does a little hopping dance when he has created a new recipe with amazing flavors.) The taste was sweet and creamy and tangy all in one.
Contemplating all the wonderful tastes I have found in the last couple years, I thought about my walk with God in the same light. Much like using prepackaged foods we can come up with religious practices and rituals to follow. We can become so accustomed to these that we do not take the time to truly hear from God. We may even take a little bit of the Word that we study and edit it into our routine, but to simply concentrate and focus on God with no additives may be difficult.
Don't get me wrong, I believe in discipline in the Christian
walk. Setting aside time for prayer and study is among these. Regularly serving
and meeting with other believers to worship and share life is also critical to
a mature walk with Jesus. But sometimes we can let these become more routine
then real. Because we sit down and read the Bible does not mean that our hearts
are truly open to hear what the Spirit would teach us. Jesus spoke of this very
problem with His disciples when they did not understand His words. “Having eyes, do you not see [with them], and having
ears, do you not hear and perceive and understand the sense of what
is said? And do you not remember?” (Mark 8:18 AMP)
Our prayers can become merely the listing of needs both in our
lives and that of others. Jesus also warned against
this as He taught His disciples to pray.
“And when you pray, do not heap up phrases (multiply words, repeating the same
ones over and over) as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard for
their much speaking.” (Matthew 6:7 AMP) Even
though time is spent, little true communication with God may be accomplished.
When you truly start allowing God to bring Scriptures to life as
you read, Bible times become exciting. It can actually become the most looked
forward to time of the day. When prayer truly becomes talking with and not at
the Father it also takes on a new, exciting dimension. The most exciting thing
to me recently has been when God begins to connect the truths He has taught me
from one scripture to another. We can have a ‘Woah, I never realized that!’
moment when we see deeper meaning in the Scriptures. Then we have another and
another. When we see how each of these fit together, the truth is amazing. The
first burst of understanding was like my homemade mayonnaise. The second is the
honey mustard dressing. When they connect, the greater understanding of the
heart and intent of God tastes so great it makes us want to get up and praise
Him.
King David understood this when he wrote, “O taste and see that the
Lord [our God] is good! Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who
trusts and takes refuge in Him.” (Psalm 34:8 AMP) David also understood what it was
like to dance before the Lord with joy. (See 2 Samuel 6:14) He truly understood
the heart of God in a way that few people take the time search for. Quoting
God’s own words through Samuel, the prophet, (See 1 Samuel 13:14) the apostle
Paul declared, “And when He had deposed him,
He raised up David to be their king; of him He bore witness and said, I have
found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart, who will do all My will and carry out My program fully.” (Acts 13:22 AMP) David tasted of the Lord’s truth
and goodness and spent a life praising Him.
So take advice from Jesus, David and Paul and open
your hearts to hear the pure message of
the Holy Spirit to you. He desires
that you know God more and more each day. And when you taste of the truth,
rejoice in Him!
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