Have You Tasted?

“Drink deeply of the pleasures of this God. Experience for yourself the joyous mercies he gives to all who turn to hide themselves in him” (Ps. 34:8, TPT).

If you ask me why Jesus is everything to me, I think this verse expresses the answer quite well. I have experienced Him for myself. As other versions of this verse put it, I have tasted of Him. I have lifted up the eyes of my heart and gazed on Him. I have felt His hands holding my face. He expressed His indescribable compassion for my pain through that touch. It marked me.

I have fed on Jesus. I have spent hours on end soaking in His nearness, almost every day, ever since my dad taught me to have quiet times when I was nine years old. I have hungered and thirsted for Him, and I have been satisfied. And yet, I am not satisfied. I want more and more and more of His nearness, of His intimacy, of His heart.

Jesus holds me when I am sad or weary. He heals me again and again when I get hurt. He talks to me all day, Spirit to spirit, often without any words. When I give Him my troubled emotions, He lifts them out and off of me. In their place, He pours in strength and peace. He shows me in a thousand different ways how closely He is paying attention to what matters to me. He is an intimate, personal God.

The best part of my day is when I am alone with Him, focused on His presence. The tangible, real strength that He imparts to me during that time carries over into the rest of my day. His sweetness makes my life sweet, no matter how many battles I have to fight (and believe me, I have had a lion’s share of them).

I don’t share this because I have arrived. Over and over, I fall short of remembering to point my heart and thoughts towards Him. I am still learning. Still growing. Still incredibly imperfect.

Why, then? I share it because I want you to know. Intimacy with Jesus is a real thing. It’s available. You can have as much of it as you want.

“Let everyone gripped with spiritual thirst say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who craves the gift of living water come and drink it freely. ‘Come.’” (Rev. 22:17, TPT).

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Have you tasted of the sweetness of Jesus? Does your heart really know Him?