Knowing God's Goodness

Pastor Leon Aguilera

8 O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. 9  O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.  
10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.
—Psalm 34:8-10

If you’re one of God’s children, you will figure this out by the end of your life: God is good. There's no telling what He will take you 

through to bring you to that place. But eventually your value system will be set up in such a way that you say, “The Lord is 

good!” Everything He allowed, everything He withheld, every difficult season, every stretching circumstance, God meant for your good. His disposition is kindness. His default action is for your benefit. You can know His goodness as certainly as you can taste and savor your favorite food.

Psalm 34:8 invites us to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” The sequence of the phrase makes tasting the action and seeing the result. God is saying in essence, Engage all your senses and you will discover, among other things, My 
goodness. Here, tasting and seeing are used to help us understand just how “up close and personal” God’s goodness can be experienced.

In the immediate context, there are three other parallel expressions that illustrate how you can “taste and see that the Lord is good.” They are: 1) take “trusteth in him” and be “blessed”; 2)“fear the Lord and no want”; 3) “seek the Lord and shall not want (lack) any good thing.”

Taking refuge, fearing the Lord, and seeking Him are three ways of tasting. The closer we engage with God, the more we can know His goodness. He urges, “Taste! Sample and see. Find out for yourself that I am good.” God’s goodness is what He wants us to experience. He offers Himself to us!

Psalm 100:5 says, “For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” Every generation learns the truth—God’s goodness is something He wants us to experience. It flows to us as steadfast love and faithfulness and is present in everything He does.

Even God’s timetable is good, but we may only see this after events have transpired. Our prayer must be, Father, I’m waiting for You because I’ve tasted and know You are good in what You do and in when You do it!

Psalm 145:9 says, “The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.” God is not usually quick to answer questions like, “Why did You allow this, God?” or “Why is this happening in my life?” But His mercy and His kindness are over all that He has made. Those willing to keep tasting are the ones who keep finding His goodness.