Do You Know His Goodness?

You can know a lot about God and still not know Him. Psalm 34 invites you to "taste and see that the LORD is good," and tasting is an experience. You taste God's goodness by trusting Him and doing what He says. As you experience His generosity, it starts to flow through you to the people around you.

What does "taste and see that the Lord is good" mean?

It means experiencing God for yourself so you can trust Him fully. The verse has two halves, and they belong together.

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

Psalm 34:8

Pastor Steve Smotherman preached the weekend message during a series on generosity. On Beyond Sunday, Karen Carter, Calvary's Next Steps director, noted his point that the Hebrew word for taste carries the idea of experiencing something. The second half of the verse speaks of taking refuge. Taking refuge means placing your full trust in God. Put the two together and you get the point: experiencing God is what lets you trust Him with everything.

All generosity starts here. Before generosity can ever flow from you, it flows from Him first.

What is the difference between knowing God and knowing about Him?

Knowing about God is information. Knowing God is a relationship. Host Pastor Sean Sloan gave a simple example: you can know about Shakespeare or George Washington, but you know your spouse and your kids. One is facts. The other is lived experience.

Scripture says God can be known through reason, and that His qualities are seen in what He has made. But facts alone fall short. James makes the point sharply:

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that, and shudder.

James 2:19

Demons know who God is, but they are not in relationship with Him. Hearing about God from your parents, friends, or a pastor is a good start. At some point, you have to get to know Him for yourself. That is how you build history with God, and history is what grows trust.

How do you actually experience God?

You experience God through obedience. Until you do what God says, you haven't really tasted it. Reading His instructions is not the same as following them. Jesus and James both draw a hard line between hearers and doers.

If you love me, keep my commands.

John 14:15

A Calvary next steps leader on the episode said that newer believers often assume warm feelings toward God mean they love Him. For example, in Calvary's Following Jesus class, they learn that love is an action word. If you say you love God, Scripture says you will walk in obedience.

Generosity works the same way. There is no generosity without actually being generous. In Malachi, God tells His people to test Him:

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."

Malachi 3:10

You may know God is faithful, but you won't really trust it until you've proven it. The only way to prove Him is to do what He says and watch Him keep His word.

Why do lesser things keep pulling at you?

They pull at you because they are counterfeits of what only God can give. The pull stays strong even after you follow Jesus.

Pastor Sean read from Augustine's Confessions, where Augustine describes God's sweetness and walks through human desires one at a time. Each vice, he argues, imitates something true about God. Ambition craves honor, but God alone is worthy of honor. Lavish living pretends to be contented abundance, but God is the full and endless store of a sweetness that never grows stale. Extravagance is a fake generosity, while God is the giver of all good things.

That is the invitation of Psalm 34. If you would taste, you would see that God is not only a God of enough. He is a God of more. The counterfeits promise what He actually delivers.

What does growing as a disciple look like?

A disciple is someone who studies, does, and teaches. You learn about God so you can live Him, and living it sends you back to study.

That cycle is humbling. When you try to put God's Word into practice, you often discover you need Him more than you thought. Pastor Sean said he relates to the father in the Gospels who brought his son to Jesus:

Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

Mark 9:24

That is the heart of a disciple. God, I do know You, and I want to know You more.

How does God's goodness become generosity through you?

As God is generous with you, His life flows out of you. You can share only because you first received.

Generosity goes well beyond money. It shows up in your forgiveness, your kindness, and your time. Ask yourself what people experience when they encounter you. Do they taste love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and goodness? The fruit of the Spirit in your life can be one of the ways other people taste and see that the Lord is good.

Common questions

What does "taste and see that the Lord is good" mean?

Psalm 34:8 invites you to experience God, not just learn facts about Him. Tasting His goodness through relationship and obedience leads you to trust Him and take refuge in Him.

What is the difference between knowing God and knowing about God?

Knowing about God is information. Knowing God is a relationship built by walking with Him, obeying Him, and seeing Him prove faithful. James 2:19 shows that even demons know facts about God.

How does obedience help me experience God?

Jesus said love for Him shows up in keeping His commands. When you do what God says, you see His faithfulness firsthand, and your trust grows.

How is God's goodness connected to generosity?

All generosity flows from God's generosity to you. As you receive from Him, you are able to give to others in money, time, forgiveness, and kindness.