This is the week to taste. Perhaps no other season of the year is more associated with taste than Thanksgiving. Menus have been planned for weeks. Turkeys and hams have been purchased. Secret seasonings are secure and ready to be added at just the right moment. Taste buds are working overtime in an effort to savor every bite, knowing these will not return for another year.

It’s Thanksgiving. Each meal is planned with great care. Each course comes with its own story and tradition that demands the story be told ... year after year. The candles are being placed with care. The centerpiece is beautiful. The table is set with the finest silver and china. Family photos will be taken. Memories will be made. All that is nice, but you cannot wait to taste the food. You’ve been waiting all year and know that you will have to wait for another year before you get this collection of tastes in one spot again. The sense of taste is a wonderful gift from God. I cannot imagine Thanksgiving without being able to taste!

God also has given us the sense of sight. What a blessing it is on Thanksgiving to be able to see! Not only does our sense of taste go into full gear, but there are also certain images of Thanksgiving that we long to see. We long to see the faces that we love. Many we see only on this special holiday. We long to see the door open and our children walk in. We long to see their car make the turn down our street. We long to see the holiday programs or games that remind us it’s Thanksgiving. We love to see the family gathered around the table, holding hands for a prayer, enjoying the food and time together. I cannot imagine Thanksgiving without being able to see!

The psalmist, David, reminds us of another reason to be grateful for our sense of taste and sight. Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. (Psalm 34:8, NIV) I like the way The Message says it: Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see how good God is.

Not only do we enjoy foods and the fellowship this time of year, but God invites us to enjoy Him as well. Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see how good God is.

"Open your mouth and taste ..." describes how we must take Him into our system. You cannot taste food unless it gets into your mouth. You cannot get it into your mouth unless you open your mouth. You cannot taste God unless He gets inside you. He cannot get inside you unless you open yourself to Him. Chances are when you sit down to the Thanksgiving dinner, no one will need to tell you, "Open up and eat." When the okay is given, you dig in, you gobble up, you stuff yourself with stuffing. The invitation is given and is accepted. God is inviting you to open your mouth and taste how good He is. Even turkey and dressing does not compare to His goodness.

I’m ready to dig in.
"Open your eyes and see ..." When the games are turned on and the chips, dips, and desserts are served, no one will need to tell me to "Come and see." I have already spotted them. I’m ready to dig in. God is with us all the time. He is surrounding us. He is within us. He is gracious. He is good. I see Him all the time, but sometimes I don’t really see him. All I need to do is open my eyes and see that he is good.

This Thanksgiving — and every minute of every day — God is offering each of us an invitation, Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see how good God is.

God is good! Mighty good! Taste. See. Enjoy.