Taste and see that the Lord is truly good

It was 1993. Heidi and I had been married for almost nine months. We took a trip to visit my aunt and uncle who live in Bridgeport, Connecticut. My Uncle Bud was having a conversation with my father, myself and my bride, Heidi. We were standing in the backyard.

I needed to use the restroom, so I went to go into my uncle’s house. Uncle Bud mentioned to me it might be a good idea for him to hold the cat. The cat, named Woodsy, liked to attack men, so my uncle went up on the porch and held him.

Woodsy was rescued from a factory and she obviously had a parent who was very wild. She had an oval face that looked like a lynx or a bobcat and she was very, very aggressive and angry.

I went into the restroom, washed my hands then came out. I walked down the hallway. What I did not know was Woodsy came into the house via the pet door and was waiting for me. Heidi was patiently waiting for me outside, but I never came out of the restroom.

“Why?” you may ask. Woodsy the cat attacked me! She hid behind a wall and when I stepped into the hallway, she jumped out in front of me with her nails sticking into the hardwood floor, her fur was sticking straight up in the air and her tail was straight as an arrow. She began to meow and then growl and chased me back into bathroom.

I closed the door, and she began to throw her head against the door over and over again, it seemed like a scene out of a horror movie! I thought she was going to come right through the door. I was shaking. My skin was pale and white like a ghost, and I just kept saying repeatedly, Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Jesus Christ who gives me strength, I can do all things through Jesus Christ who gives me strength. I can do all things through Jesus Christ who gives me strength.”

I tried to step out of the doorway and there she was waiting for me, for two hours I was inside the bathroom as Woodsy held me hostage. Finally, Heidi came looking for me, “Dave, are you okay?” I responded, “Where’s the cat? The cat attacked me!” The next thing I knew, both Heidi and I were both in the bathroom.

I told my wife the story. She grabbed my hand, and she opened the door, and she walked me outside. The cat stayed underneath the coffee table in the living room licking its paw like I was out of my mind! She was just a gentle cute cat. NOT! Woodsy was the spawn of Satan. Why else would she attack me?

What a terrible day that was, and that day haunted me for most of my life. Cats scare the snot out of me! Since that day, I have been afraid of cats. There has been only one time in my life I’ve been able to pet and even hold a cat. That cat was Opie, who was Wade and Mary Beth Sander’s cat. That was several years ago and since then I have never been able to pet a cat or be close to a cat.

Until just the other day.

I was smoking meat getting prepared for Van Buren’s River Jam. Suddenly, right behind me was a little cat. She didn’t have much of a meow. It was more of a grunt. She was a black and white cat, rough around the edges which I kind of liked. So, I took some pork grease, I put it on a piece of tinfoil and laid it down. Soon, the cat was happily licking up the pork grease. Since that night, the cat waits for me outside of my house and is ready to go down to the smokers or walk with me to church.

I admit it — though it may change your perspective of me — I kind of enjoy it. I never thought I could say this, but I enjoy the company of a cat! I am so glad that God cares enough to deliver us from the trauma of our past.

In the scripture in Psalm 34:8, it says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” It goes on in that passage to talk about those who know God as their refuge will understand the goodness of the Lord. This verse was written after David’s deliverance from Saul and brings us to a good point, though. We sometimes do not look at this whole verse. We stop at “taste and see that the Lord is good” But we must understand the reason that the believer finds out that the Lord is good.

The believer knows the Lord is good because they trusted the Lord. The believer found refuge during the trial. They found Jesus to be their shelter and their strong tower. The truth of it is that they realize that God has never left them. He is always with us.

That is how we know that the Lord is good. When we taste and see him, will we seek him when times are not good? We go through things, we go through trauma, and we go through times when it seems like we are not going to see deliverance. However, God is good! He is seldom early but never late! He believes in you, he loves you. He cares about your situation and most importantly, when we call upon him, God is there.

I am thankful for that today. I know by experience, when I trust in Jesus through the hard times, that is when he makes me more like himself. The Lord is the potter. I am the clay. Like myself, you too, are the clay in the hands of the Master. Through the times of shaping and forming that comes through trials and tribulation, God uses those to make us more like him. We become more holy, more righteous, and more loving as we walk through the storm.

May you find the Lord to be your strong tower and your shelter in the time of the storm. You will find the Lord to be faithful! Blessings on you and yours! Have a great week!

Dave Truncone is the pastor of First Assembly of God Church in Van Buren. He is married to Heidi and they have two daughters, Hannah and Abigail. They live in Van Buren.