sense God.

Today I woke up to silence with the sun shining through my blinds & I was in an incredibly good mood.
After a few minutes of just laying there, I decided to flip open my Bible and read through a few random Psalms. I read quite a few this morning, but one in particular was Psalm 34. [you should go read it really quickly. it's one of my favs]
I've read through this chapter many times, it's marked up in pink highlighter and light blue pen in my Bible. This morning though, I read through these verses not thinking much about their lovely truth and then moved on to a different chapter. Little did I know, that God was going to humble me greatly with these verses in just a few short hours.
Early this afternoon, my family went to Lamesa to watch a movie. I drove the 40 miles with my family silently doing different things in the back seat.
For those of you that know me, you know that I think WAY too much & driving always gives my brain an opportunity to think even more! haha I'm quite the scatter brain, so I don't know I ended up back on the subject of Psalm 34, but God kept my mind wandering over those words. Especially verse 8.

"Taste and see the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him."

I was stuck on taste and see.
Taste and see?? Why did David, a wise man, choose to use the words, "Taste and see The Lord is good..."?
I guess David simply wanted to make the point that you can sense God's goodness through every little thing.

And then of course, I kept thinking. How exactly do I sense God?!
There are 5 senses: seeing, tasting, hearing, smelling, and feeling.
Well if you can "taste and see" that God is good then you can sense that He is good with other things too.

I HEAR the sound of wind, giggles, instrumental music, singing, crying, clapping, conversations, and laughter. All of these tend to remind me that Jesus is good.
I SMELL candles and perfumes, but I also smell flowers and rain. Those tend to remind me that Jesus is good.
I FEEL different surfaces, a person's shirt when I hug, people's hand during a high-five. But I also FEEL different things in my heart. Emotions of happiness, awe, love, compassion, and peace and am reminded that Jesus is good.
I TASTE mainly just different foods. Some of which taste reallyyyy good! haha But God provides me with nutrition daily. I taste and am reminded, Jesus is good.
I SEE people living life, nature, pictures & paintings, sunsets & sunrises, smiles, and wonderful suprises. All of these things remind me that Jesus is good.

I'm humbled that The Lord created these five senses ultimately to endlessly remind His children that JESUS IS GOOD.

Romans 1:20 says,
"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

For a long time I wondered how God could possibly think humans could simply KNOW there is a God who loves us and created us to love Him in return. I think I get it now though.

we humans can sense God because with all of His goodness, He has allowed us to sense Him.
So go ahead,
hear, smell, feel, taste, and see.
Jesus, and all He is, is good.


Jesus,
-teach me to continuously sense Your presence, Lord.
I see you face in every sunrise. The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes. The world awakens in the light of the day and I look up to the sky and say, You're beautiful. Yes, you Lord are good & you Lord, are beautiful. I love You. Oh I dearly love You.

the worries of Winter & the flowers of Spring.

"...I walk to the meadow and stare at the flowers better dressed than any girl on her wedding day. So why do I worry? Why do I freak out? God knows what I need. You know what I need. Your love is, Your love is, Your love is strong ... Two things you told me That you are strong And you love me. Yes, You love me..."
-Jon Foreman

my soul has weary and worrisome Winter days here and there. those days always end up reminding me of Jesus' love and grace. my soul also has days filled with the flowers of Spring. those days also always remind me of Jesus' love and grace, but in a different way. it's neat how God works. i'm in awe of His wonder. i'm satisfied with the greatness of The Lord. my soul is overwhelmed with this marvelous God of the sweetest, strongest love.

"One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard:
that You, O God, are strong,
And that You, O God, are loving." -Psalm 62:11-12a