A Psalm of David
A quick look at Psalm 34 and we can see that David supplies us with useful information about how to overcome, or how to be delivered from our fears. He tells us that this is a 3-step process.
The first step is to acknowledge our fears. Yes, we would like to appear to the world like we have it all together all of the time, and that we are the coolest and calmest person walking the earth, but we are not. We are frail human vessels who are frightened at times. So the first order of business is to “fess up.” Yes, I am afraid and I cannot figure out how to get through this situation.
The second step is to appropriate God’s power. We need to use it, rely on it, and incorporate it into our whole being. Remember, “He has not given us the spirit of fear…” Use the gifts and talents that you have been given.
The third part of the process is in God’s hands. He “encamps around us.” He protects us. He fortifies us. He gets us ready for battle. In the book of Job, it was referred to as a “hedge.” He guards our hearts and our minds, if we relinquish whatever control we think we have over things, and let him do it.
But, as David continues his writing, he invites us to “taste and see that the Lord is good.”
Taste and see
These two verbs don’t ordinarily sound like they should go together. But what David is driving at is that he wants us to experience this goodness for ourselves. He wants us to convert our head knowledge into heart knowledge. He wants us to bring all of our senses into play to become a part of the experience.
You may disagree with me, but my grandmother made the best sweet potato pies in the world. It is a magical combination of spices that I have never been able re-create, but one I will never forget.
But, when I smell something close to it, and close my eyes- I can taste that pie and the flaky crust. I can smell the spices in the pie and the chicken we will eat after church. I can feel the warmth from my mother’s oven in our tiny kitchen. I can hear and feel the scratchy crinoline I have to wear under my church dress. I can look down and see my socks with lace and super shiny patent leather shoes.
And the best part? I know that as the most cherished and favored among her grandchildren (well, at least in my own little mind) – my grandmother would then use the extra and the scraps to make me some tiny sweet potato turnovers of my very own.
A few scents and I am a child again, in a world that suddenly feels not so scary.
This is what David wants. Yes, we can read about God, we can go to church or synagogue or temple week after week, and we can study about it. But until and unless that “something” gets into us and becomes part of us, and unless we let go of the “head knowledge” and step out on faith alone, it is all for naught.
“Oh, Taste and see that the Lord is good!”
And… Happy Grandparents Day!
photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/plonq/2190359601/sizes/z/in/photostream/
