Oh, Taste and See!
by Sharon Betters
TODAY’S TREASURE
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
Psalm 34:8
Laura, our beloved daughter-in-love, sets a “House Beautiful” worthy table. Mother of five, she never ceases to amaze me in the way she transforms old wood and throw away objects into stunning pieces. What makes her table even more inviting is I know she sets each piece with love. Preparing a place for beloved guests fills her heart with joy.
I think this is the kind of heart Jesus had when He told His disciples He had to leave them so that He could prepare a place for them. Imagine our Savior greeting each of us as we take our place at the “banquet table” in Heaven, declaring, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”
While we travel on our own journey toward Heaven, we have the privilege of setting a beautiful table with our lives that invites others to “taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man or woman who takes refuge in Him!”
Making this declaration the grid through which I push my response to difficult relationships helps me be more intentional in my interactions.
Perhaps the first question we need to answer is, “What is my relationship to the Lord? Do I believe He is good? Do I believe that I am blessed as I take refuge in Him?”
If you cannot answer those questions with a resounding yes, please take stock of where you are spiritually. Do not assume that because you went to church as a child or even now, because you are a nice person and everybody tells you so, or that you teach a Sunday school class or give lots of money to charitable organizations that you know Jesus personally. If you’re not sure, I invite you now to “taste and see that He is good!” I invite you to take refuge in Him today. After the deaths of our son and his friend, I questioned the goodness of God, feeling as though I did not know who He was. In my heart, I felt God leading me to read the book of John and recognize if I wanted to know God, I needed to know Jesus. Jesus is God. As I read this beautiful record of Jesus’ life, I saw Jesus interacting with people broken by life. I saw His tenderness and kindness extended toward those forgotten by society. Watching Jesus, getting to know Him, drew me to the heart of His Father, to God. I tasted at the table set for me by Jesus, and I remembered the Lord is good, He is my refuge when I trust in Him.
If you are struggling and need help finding your way to Jesus, please contact me at dailytreasure@markinc.org. I am eager to help you find your way to life in Him.
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
If you are not sure about your relationship to Jesus or if you recognize your love for Him is growing cold and distant, read the book of John with pen in hand. Note in the margins your response to the actions of Jesus or write in your journal how Jesus is drawing you into His heart. Ask a friend to pray with and for you, as you begin this journey to fall in love with Jesus and experience the new life only He gives.
PRAYER
Oh Jesus, thank you for preparing a place in Heaven for us. Thank you also for giving us the privilege of preparing a table through our lives that entices others to “taste and see that You are good.”
STORE UP MORE TREASURES
At some point in our lives, we or someone we know will go through great suffering. I encourage you to go to the MARKINC website and listen to the Loss of A Child audio resource with Chuck and Sharon Betters so that you can store up treasures of encouragement for the next rainy day in your life or someone else's. Here is a summary and teaser of this resource:
The phone rings. . . A stranger says, “Mrs. Betters, your son has been in an accident. You must come immediately”, and you know in your heart that you have received the phone call every parent dreads. Your life will never be the same. We received that phone call on July 6, 1993. We raced to the hospital to learn that our youngest child, Mark, and his friend, Kelly, had died in a car accident. Suddenly we belonged to a private club no one would ever willingly join. Since that horrific night, we have met many other parents who are struggling to find a new level of normal as they face each day without one of their children. Some were taken at birth or shortly after. Others were toddlers, pre-teens, teens. Some were established with children of their own. Each child’s death, whatever age, ripped their parents’ hearts to shreds. In this message, we share our story. We are honest about our struggle to not only face each day without Mark but also to reconcile the love of God with His sovereign care. How could God really love us when He allowed this to happen? Where is God? He seems so far away. Is He really holding us tightly in His grip?
Every time we share our story we have two people in mind. The first is the person who is holding onto life by fingernails and is desperate for a shred of hope. The second is the person who needs to walk in the darkness with a broken hearted friend. It’s our prayer that it will fall into the hands of that broken hearted Mom or Dad who needs just an inch of hope to hang on for the next few minutes, and that our message will help equip the one God is calling to walk alongside the shattered parents.
We pray that as you listen you will conclude with us that God is faithful and you can trust Him.
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Contact Sharon with comments or questions at dailytreasure@markinc.org.