Taste and See: Recipe for a Thankful Heart

“Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Psalm 34:8a (ESV)

What are your favorite recipes? Have you ever told your kids, grandkids, or even picky adults, how they need to taste and see if they like a particular food?

I sure have. And it always follows with this, “How do you know whether you like it until you taste and see?”

But I plead guilty, too. Because I’m a texture person and sometimes it looks like the texture of a particular food is outside my comfort zone. 🙂

Whether it’s our favorite foods or trying something new, recipes assist in the desired result. And our hopes that everyone will Taste and see it is good.

Every Thanksgiving, I follow a special recipe to make my Grandmother Clarkston’s lemon pie. Yum! It’s my favorite dessert of all time!  She passed away a few months shy of 100. So it brings up so many special memories of her when I make it.

Taste and See Recipe

Recipes always call for measurements—a cup of this or a tablespoon of that. Likewise, we often make other measures in life. 

A real thankful heart never comes easy, much less during difficult years experienced in the world or our own personal world.

Because last Thanksgiving, our granddaughter, who was 6 at the time, had major inner ear surgery. By early spring, she had the same procedure again to correct issues not healing correctly.

While we were thankful doctors discovered the growth, discouragement crept in. Especially since she will never hear out of that ear again without hearing aid.

Hard circumstances affect our thankfulness, if we let them. Yes, we choose. Just as we choose to follow a recipe, we make a choice to keep our heart thankful toward God. Because HE. Is. Good.

Our circumstances never dictate true thankfulness in our heart.

So let’s look at a recipe for a T-H-A-N-K-F-U-L heart.

Our circumstances never dictate true thankfulness in our heart. Share on X

Thankful Heart Recipe

T – Taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:8)

The first bite of lemon pie always reminds me of its goodness. Similarly, God reminds us over and over He’s a good, good Father. God alone is reason enough to give thanks.   

God reminds us over and over He’s a good, good Father. God alone is reason enough to give thanks.    Share on X

H – Help others. (Philippians 2:4, Matthew 25:42-44)

Kingdom principles rarely make sense to our limited minds. When we look to the interests and needs of others; and when we help the least of these, it grows a thankful heart.

A – Accelerate praise and giving thanks to the Lord. (Psalm 7:17, Psalm 69:30)

As our voice sings praises and gives thanks, and raises Hallelujahs!, our heart naturally overflows with thankfulness. Praise + giving thanks = a thankful heart.

N – Nourish our soul. (Isaiah 55:1-3, John 6:35)

Holidays and special occasions find most of us nourishing our body with nutrients and vitamins (and other stuff we won’t mention here). But replenishing our soul with spiritual nourishment brings spiritual vitality and life! We go to the bread of life, Jesus, to satisfy our hunger and thirst.

K – Keep the faith. (2 Timothy 4:7)

Like straying from a recipe botches the dish, straying from the foundations of our faith leaves us open to worldly perspectives and a less than whole heart devoted to God. 

Taste and See: More Ingredients

F – Form an attitude of gratitude. (1 Timothy 4:4, Hebrews 12:28)

An attitude makes all the difference. Forming a specific one doesn’t happen overnight. Hebrews 12:28 encourages us to “be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.” (ESV) And 1 Timothy 4:4 says, “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.” (ESV) Attitudes of gratitude connect thanksgiving to our heart.

U – Understand God’s blessings. (Ephesians 1:3)

We’ve heard it said to count our blessings. And we know we are blessed with every spiritual blessing. While it’s not an exhaustive list, these include: amazing grace, never-ending mercy, unconditional and undying love, unsurpassed peace, real hope, authentic faith, unwavering truth, overflowing joy and God’s fullness for our emptiness. 

L – Lay up treasures in heaven. (Matthew 6:19-21)

Maybe we lost earthly treasures this past year or other times in our lives. Like a job, home, investments, or other. One sure-fire way to cook up a taste-and-see-thankful heart? Lay up treasures in heaven. A place treasure is never destroyed or stolen. 

"Taste and see that the Lord is good." Psalm 34:8a (ESV) Share on X

Featured images courtesy of Friday’s Forever on YouTube.

Last week’s post, 3 Spiritual Truths God Showed Me in the Mountains.

Sometimes I participate in these link-ups: Let’s Have Coffee/Embracing the Unexpected (Grace & Truth).

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