O Taste & See the Lord is Good

I have been thinking a lot lately about the senses-touch, hearing, sight, but especially, taste and smell

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We are invited from David in the Psalms-“O taste and see, the Lord is good.”  We are told our prayers are “a sweet smelling savor unto the Lord.” 

Often before a delicious meal is consumed, it is our sense of smell that invites us to taste and enjoy.

Have you ever come home from a long day to have something you threw in the crockpot earlier in the day greet you as you stepped inside?

Isn’t it kind of amazing that those ingredients that barely had a fragrance when raw, slow cook and become something special?  The delicious smell is a promise of the good things to come. 

It is when my prayer-a sweet smell in the nostrils of God-releases His Spirit & floods my being with His Presence that I am overwhelmed and know that I have tasted, and found that, yes indeed, the Lord is good.

As a young Christian, my prayers were kind of a laundry list of wants and needs. They were like those raw ingredients in my crockpot.

 I hadn’t yet learned the art of slowing down, being still, listening rather than talking, enjoying God, praising Him, and simply reveling in Him as the great ‘I Am.’  I often pray that I see God’s intervention in my daily life. 

When I discover the tire that just looks a little low to me and I’m able to get it inflated-THEN I’m told by the mechanic that it was almost flat, I acknowledge with gratitude God’s observable presence in this situation.

Beth Moore, one of my favorite writers and speakers calls these interventions “God-stops.”  S-T-O-P Savoring The Observable Presence of God.

I encourage you today to Savor God’s Observable Presence in your life.  Taste and see, the Lord is good.

CROCKPOT ROAST BEEF
3-4 lb. roast beef, trimmed of excess fat
 3-4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 env. onion soup mix 
1 (10 3/4-oz.) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
3-4 large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1/4 tsp. garlic powder (or more to taste)
 3-4 stalks celery, cut into bite size pieces
Place roast, soup mix, cream soup, and seasonings into crock pot. Add 1-1/2 cups
water. Cook on high for 3 hours, then add vegetables.

Continue to cook for another 3-4 hours until meat is tender and vegetables are done. If you won't be home all day, place all in crock pot with the vegetables on top and cook on low setting for 8 hours.
Serve with hot cornbread, butter, and sweet tea.

Note: I know this recipe seems simplistic, but most good recipes really are the result
of good seasoning and proper cooking times. I use the leftovers for the base of my
vegetable soup. Add a can of green beans, diced tomatoes, corn, pinto beans and/or
frozen lima beans(I like their texture better), and additional liquid with some beef
soup base and simmer for 30 minutes.