Have you ever had a cold or a sinus infection that was so bad that you couldn’t taste any of the food you were eating? I remember one time I was eating a nice, big, juicy $12 hamburger at a restaurant, but I had a sinus infection and I couldn’t taste anything. It might as well have been a cheap bowl of oatmeal. I felt like I wasted my money. Yes, my belly was full, but my taste-buds weren’t satisfied. Most of the enjoyment of eating comes from TASTING.
Sometimes life is like that. All the good things in life seem to have lost their “taste” and we just go through the motions. Eat…chew… swallow… belly is full, but there was no taste, and thus, no enjoyment. JOY is to LIFE what TASTE is to EATING. Sure, you can LIVE without experiencing JOY, just like you can EAT without TASTING. Your belly can be satisfied while your taste-buds are dissatisfied. But the pleasure in eating comes from tasting… and the pleasure in living comes from enjoying.
In John 15:11, Jesus said “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” Jesus didn’t die for us just so we could “live.” He died for us that we might have “joy.” He paid the price for us to have joy! Ask God to open your eyes to the joy in life that you’ve been missing. Joy is the FLAVOR OF THE SAVIOR!
My Prayer for Today: “Lord, help me to experience the joy that you died to give me. Life has flavor when joy is present in my life. I don’t want to live another day where joy is absent. Help me to focus on the good and positive things in life that boost my joy level. And, as I overflow with Your joy inside me, may it spill over on those around me who desperately need to “Taste and See” that the Lord is Good!”
Psalm 34:8 (NIV)
Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
