“I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” – Psalms 34:1-3, 8
We wear many different roles when we take on the title of “worship leader.” We are musicians, creatively and skillfully piecing together noise that somehow stirs the affections and awe of listeners’ hearts for the one true God. We are informers of theology, carefully selecting and placing words in the mouths of our congregations that they then offer up to God as a sacrifice of praise. We are warriors, boldly and loudly declaring the name of Jesus, drowning out the lies of the enemy.
According to this psalm, we are also taste testers. Asking others to taste something is only valid if we have tasted of it first. As we experience the truths of Jesus, we realize He is what we crave, so we invite others to experience Him as well. Our anthem as worship leaders should always be: “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!”
Taste-testing must be hard. How can one take only a bite of something flavorsome, leaving the rest on the plate? A better question: why continue tasting anything less satisfying when you’ve already recognized the best? Wouldn’t you just prefer to have more and never look elsewhere?
Let me pose this same question to us as worship leaders: why do we taste of Jesus yet allow our flesh to convince us there is something better? Why do we encourage others to exalt his name when we are secretly esteeming something else higher? I have asked myself these very questions, and I realized my answer was simple: yes, I have tasted, but I did not savor him. I had loved him and enjoyed him – but I had not preferred him.
You see, when we truly taste and see, we lose preference for anything apart from Him, our hearts shifting from fleshly gratification to indulging in and meditating on the Word that brings the deepest satisfaction to our souls. We were made for this satisfaction – to prefer Christ and life found in him.
“The deepest longing of the human heart and the deepest meaning of heaven and earth are summed up in this: the glory of God. We were made to see it and savor it. Nothing less will do, which is why the world is as disordered and dysfunctional as it is. We have exchanged the glory of God for other things.” – John Piper, Seeing & Savoring Jesus Christ
When we prefer something other than Jesus, we ultimately find dissatisfaction.
Why do we convince ourselves that there is something better? The answer is this: we aren’t tasting of Him enough. Just like we order our favorite food over and over at our favorite restaurants, so we need return to Christ again and again. Our hearts will never grow weary of tasting and seeing that the Lord is good.
I echo what David said in Psalm 34. I pray the praise of God is continually in our mouths as we daily feast on the knowledge of Jesus Christ. I pray our experience with Jesus leaves us desperate for others to experience him the same way.
Fellow worship leaders and taste testers, don’t stop at just one glorious bite. Dig in and dine forever. And continue to invite others to the table with you!
Kellie Fuselier is the lead singer for the worship duo Kellie & Kristen. She and her twin sister currently reside in Louisiana, serving as worship leaders at The Gathering Place Wardville when they aren’t on the road.
