A deeper insight reveals the progressive nature of faith. The first stage of faith is hearing. We listen to the voice of God, not just with our physical ears, but with our spiritual ears. We recognize it as God's Word and we believe it as such. This is the "hearing" aspect of faith. Then we begin to perceive and understand the truth as it is presented to us. This understanding represents the "seeing" aspect of faith.

As we continue to engage with our faith, we discover its preciousness. We begin to appreciate it, and we perceive its fragrance. This appreciation signifies the "smell" of faith.

Furthermore, we make the mercies of Christ our own. We grasp them, and that grasping represents the "touch" of faith. From this "touch", we derive spiritual joy, peace, communion, and delight, and these feelings signify the "taste" of faith.

We can experience salvation through any of these sensory experiences of faith. Hearing Christ's voice as the sure voice of God in our souls can save us. But to fully enjoy and cherish our faith, we must receive Christ through holy taste, apprehend His sweetness and preciousness, and make Him the nourishment of our souls. Then we can say, like the scripture, that we delight to sit in His shade, and His fruit is sweet to our taste.

Lord Jesus, may we sit in Your divine shade,
And find Your fruit sweet to our taste.
Let us savor Your sweet mercy,
And find in You our spiritual sustenance.

Questions for Reflection

1. How does the metaphor of tasting sweet fruit apply to your own experience of faith?
2. What do you think it means to experience God through the sense of smell?
3. How does the concept of 'hearing' God's voice manifest in your life?
4. How can the sense of touch apply to your spiritual experiences?
5. How can you nurture your faith to make it more like an apple tree that provides sweet fruit and comforting shade?
6. What ways can you 'taste' and savor the divine in your everyday life?
7. If faith could be likened to a physical sense, which would it be for you and why?
8. How do the 'mercies of Christ' manifest in your life?
9. How can the act of 'sitting in His shade' be interpreted in today's context?
10. How does the Scripture influence your understanding of faith as a sensory experience?

Supporting Scriptures

Psalm 34:8: Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
Psalm 119:103: How sweet are Your words to my taste—sweeter than honey in my mouth!
Jeremiah 15:16: Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became my joy and my heart’s delight. For I bear Your name, O LORD God of Hosts.
John 15:1-5: “I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard.
Revelation 22:2: down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
Psalm 1:3: He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.
Jeremiah 17:8: He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.

Dawn and Dusk: Scriptures, Devotions, and Prayers. Inspired by Charles Haddon Spurgeon's Morning and Evening: Daily Readings. You are free to copy as needed for noncommercial personal and ministry use.