8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
    Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
    for those who fear him have no lack!
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger;
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Psalm 34:8-10

The psalmist continues after sharing his personal testimony... and as he continues he begins to urge others around him to follow Christ. This is what should happen in your life. If you have tasted to see that the Lord is good, then you SHOULD tell others about it. It is like being an Ambassador for a good restaurant... if you will tell others about the great burger you just ate, then why won’t you tell them about Jesus? Is he not infinitely sweeter and more satisfying?

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!”
What a cool sentence to read in the Bible. My mind immediately goes to the deer panting for the water and being satisfied with the water from the stream. That deer was desperate to drink... dying of thirst.... And the stream of water was the quench to his thirst. That is exactly what we realize in Christ.

Have you tasted the Lord and found Him to be good? Share a story to the group about how God has been good in your life!!

“Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”
Remember that to be “blessed” is to be happy with an eternal mindset. To be “blessed” is to be totally and completely satisfied in Christ alone no matter your circumstances in life. To be “blessed” is to find lifelong joy in the sovereignty and supremacy of a Holy God.

There is blessing found in the refuge of our God. The refuge that we receive from God is both immediate and eternal. We receive immediate refuge from a desire to be like the world. The grace of God pulls us out of the cultural desire to live in the filth of our trespasses and sins. The eternal refuge we gain from God is when we are finally saved from eternal damnation. We receive refuge from the wrath of God.

Isn’t it amazing to think that the believer in Christ will never experience the wrath of God? Praise the Lord! Thank you for your mercy.

“Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
    for those who fear him have no lack!”
This is a call for the believer to fear God and nothing else. Do not fear the world. Do not fear the culture. Do not give any credence to the offerings of this society. Fear God!

Remember, do not turn to the left. Do not turn to the right. Set your mind on things that are above. Do not allow this culture to infiltrate your life and influence what your life as a believer looks like. Be strong and courageous.

You will lack nothing because you have EVERYTHING in Christ. There is nothing that this world offers that is greater than Christ alone.

Christ + nothing = EVERYTHING

“The young lions suffer want and hunger;
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”
This is an immediate supplement to the above verse. This is saying that the young lion is immature and without wisdom. The young lion represents an unbeliever. The young lion represents someone who is trying to do everything on their own. The young lion represents someone who is trying to find joy and happiness and contentment and prosperity in themselves.

But the assumed contrast of an older/wiser lion, has sought the Lord and lacks nothing. He has found the sufficient Christ. He has found satisfaction in Christ.

I know this is hard to actually apply because a lot of it is poetic language, but don’t overthink the purpose of this portion of the psalm. The writer has found total and complete satisfaction in Christ alone and no longer needs what this world has to offer. For us this means that we need to come to the point that we prioritize Christ and everything about Christ above all of the things that this world has to offer. Nothing comes before Christ.

What are your priorities in your life? Do you consider work more important that God? Is work your god? Is TV more important than your time with your Savior? Are sports more important? Are hobbies taking your time away from your time with Christ.

As you evaluate your priorities, you can most easily do this with the amount of time that you spend with each element of your life. Just draw out a chart and determine how much time you spend doing certain things... this will tell you what is most important in your life.