Day 12 - Friday, January 20, 2023

Psalm 34:8

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”

Our brains can be conditioned to crave. There is a chemical our bodies produce that trigger happiness, pleasure, and enjoyment. This chemical is called dopamine. When we have an experience where dopamine is released our brain makes note of the cause. Over time it’s the anticipation of the reward which releases the dopamine. You see this played out in kids. Whenever they have a date on the calendar: a play date, Christmas, a birthday, or something they deem as important, the anticipation of the event releases the dopamine to trigger enjoyment.

Your body will begin to crave food and activities to get this release of dopamine. As interesting as that all is, you cannot crave what you have not tasted. For your body to crave something (which 12 days into a fast there are probably cravings) it has had to have tasted the item to have experienced the dopamine release.

There might be parts of your relationship with Jesus where there is not craving because you have not tasted them. God has so much for you- His desire is for you to know Him and enjoy him forever. During this fast purpose to pursue and taste and see the Lord is good. Maybe that means you need to forgive someone who has wronged you. There could be a step of obedience God has asked you to take. There might even be a ministry or business you need to go after. Oh taste and see. Spend time with the Holy Spirit and ask Him to show you new areas to taste and see the Lord’s goodness.