Try It... You'll Like It!

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. (Psalm 34:8-11 ESV).

 

I have come to be known as the “Mikey” of our family. You might remember the classic ad for Life Cereal from art director Bob Gage and copywriter Edie Stevenson of Doyle Dane Bernbach.  It stars three adolescent boys cautiously contemplating trying the healthy, whole-grain breakfast. Before taking the plunge, the older boys rope their youngest sibling (and pickiest eater) Mikey to try it. Mikey approves, cuing one of advertising’s single most iconic lines: “He likes it! Hey, Mikey!” The popular ad remained in regular rotation for over a decade, becoming one of the longest running commercial campaigns ever aired. John Gilchrist, the actor who played Little Mikey, grew up to star in hundreds of commercials before becoming director of media sales for MSG Networks. Like Mikey, I’ll try almost anything; and, fortunately I like almost anything.

 

When David writes our psalm today, he is saying “Try it; you’ll like it.” He is inviting us to experience what he has discovered: the goodness of God’s salvation. David is celebrating that God has rescued him from his fears and troubles. Psalm 34 is a song of gratitude we can all sing when God brings us out of a “close call” situation. But David’s joy is only a foretaste of the future redemption God will bring to all who trust in him, to all whom God will redeem through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 

God promises great blessings to his people. God will deliver, guard, supply, listen, and redeem all who are called into his grace and redemptive work through Christ. God himself also gives us the ability to believe and trust in him. And in response we seek to honor him in all things, speak truthfully, seek peace and justice, and humbly serve our God.

 

This psalm is something more than a call to give God a try. “Taste and see that the Lord is good” is an invitation to take God at his word, to trust in the Lord and experience his goodness firsthand, to know God personally, realizing that he loves us more than we can imagine. I find one of the most difficult things for us to do is to trust anyone or anything without tangible proof. However, that is precisely what David is urging us to do. The invitation is ours to receive, but it is also ours to extend. Consider today’s devotional as my invitation to each of you to try the power of God… you’ll like it!