Psalm 34: God Is Good, Even in Affliction

Introduction

“Taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Psalm 34:8). During the service of October 8, 2026 at the Chiesa Evangelica ADI Messina, in Sicily, the preacher has the second half of Psalm 34 read, a psalm the congregation knows well. “It is a psalm that always restores, that always blesses our soul whenever we turn to it.”

The theme of his reflection comes down to three words: God is good. It is easy to say when a prayer is answered or a door opens. But can you say it when you have failed, when the answer is slow to come, when you are afraid, when you pray without hearing the Lord's voice? Psalm 34 was born in a difficult moment of David's life, and that is precisely where it declares God's goodness.

The message follows the path of the psalm: an anguished heart, a cry directed to God, then a testimony of his goodness that David shares with all the afflicted.

Outline of the Message

1. Taste to Know That God Is Good

The text the preacher reads says “gustate e vedrete,” taste and you will see: the Word invites us to put the Lord to the test. Others can tell us about him and say many things, but it is like food: no one can explain it, you have to taste it. It is after tasting it that you give your opinion.
The Lord invites us to seek him and to experience him, and he affirms that God is good.
There are moments when it is easy to say: when the heart overflows with gratitude, everyone says “God is good.” The preacher's question concerns the other moments: when we have made a mistake, when the answer is slow to come, when we are afraid or in difficulty, when we see no immediate answer to prayer.

2. A Vulnerable David Who Cries Out to God

David is on the run from Saul. He seeks refuge among the Philistines, who are nonetheless his enemies. He is recognized and, seized with fear, he pretends to be insane to escape danger. The preacher points to the account in 1 Samuel 21. He also mentions David's flight from his son Absalom, “a rather serious family problem.”
We are a long way from the David who faces Goliath with courage. And yet a testimony springs from this episode: “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles” (Psalm 34:6). The preacher reads it this way: this afflicted man cried out, and the Lord answered him.
David recognizes himself in this afflicted and downcast man. More than an outward danger, it is an inner anguish: he speaks of the state of his soul, he is discouraged and he needs God to intervene.
“Answered” does not only mean that God responded to the prayer. It means that God solved the problem: being answered is equivalent to the difficulty being resolved.

3. Cry Out During the Affliction, Not After

David did not wait for the anguish to pass before seeking God: he called on him at the very moment he was in affliction.
Sometimes there is no visible difficulty, no practical reason, but the heart is afflicted and we cannot explain it. “Do not wait for the affliction to pass or the anguish to pass, call on the name of the Lord while you are afflicted.”
Open your heart to him without hiding anything: the weariness, the turmoil, the personal and family need, the pain you cannot explain to others. The only one who truly understands us, even when we cannot explain things, is the Lord.
If there is sin, let each one repent. If someone has fallen, let them return to Christ with all their heart. If there is discouragement, let us call on the name of the Lord. Draw near to receive grace (Hebrews 4:16) and say to him: “Lord, hear my prayer too, hear my cry too.”
The Holy Spirit works in the surrendered heart, sustains it and makes its prayer effective. He does not only convict of sin, comfort, renew and strengthen: he gives us the strength to come before the Lord and tell him every need.
When the affliction is in the heart, we often feel invisible, as if no one sees or knows. “But your affliction does not make you invisible in God's eyes.” He hears the cry and he sees the heart.

4. God's Goodness Shows Itself Through His Nearness

Without leaving the context of the psalm, the preacher shows how God's goodness is revealed: “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart” (Psalm 34:18). David had cried out in his affliction; now he announces to others that the Lord is near to the one whose heart is wounded.
This verse leads us into homes and families where people weep, beside a person who is suffering, into the heart of someone who has perhaps just received some news. It is there that the Word declares: “The Lord is near.”
God himself assures us of his presence: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the middle of them” (Matthew 18:20). He promises never to leave us or forsake us, and to be with us every day (Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20).
So say it to your soul: some things are not right, but the Lord is near. I do not see an answer yet, but the Lord is near. We do not have an explanation for everything. The Lord does not always offer the immediate explanation, but he offers his presence. “I believe that is enough for us.”
We believe that God heals, delivers and intervenes with power, which is why we pray with faith. And while we wait, his grace sustains us. Jairus had not yet seen the solution, but Jesus' word strengthened him: “Do not be afraid, only believe” (Mark 5:36).
There is a strength that God gives to face the difficult day, and yet another difficult day. There is a peace that guards the heart in the midst of the battle, and a comfort of the Holy Spirit that reaches depths where human words cannot go.
For the believer, there is even more: the Lord is not only near, he lives in us. You may still have tears on your face because the problem is not solved, and yet you already feel his comfort.
The preacher offers this prayer: “Lord, intervene in my situation, and while I wait, keep me close to you. While time passes, keep my faith and do not let the pain harden my heart.”

5. God's Goodness Invites Every Afflicted Person to Trust in Him

David could have been content to tell of his deliverance. Instead he extends an invitation to all who read this text: “Taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” (Psalm 34:8).
The one who had cried out in anguish now encourages others to take refuge in the Lord. When you make a good discovery, you share it: “The bad things, let us leave them aside, but the good ones, let us tell them to others.”
It is as if he were saying: “I have known fear, affliction, difficulty, anguish, but I have also known his faithfulness and his goodness. Seek him too, entrust your life to him.”
You may not know how to explain doctrine or present Jesus with big words. With simple words, you can say to a friend or a relative in need: try it, put the Lord to the test and you will see how good he is. Pray, and you will see how he answers you. Read the Bible, and you will see how he speaks to your heart.
Other people's testimony encourages us, but each one is called to respond personally to God.
The preacher insists on testimony led by the Holy Spirit. It is not our stories or our personal affairs that build up the Church. But if you can say as David did: “I was in affliction, I cried out to the Lord and he answered me,” that testimony is of great value to someone going through a trial.

6. The Greatest Sign of His Goodness: Jesus Christ

The greatest expression of God's goodness and mercy is Jesus Christ, who gave his life to save our souls. “What other proof of goodness are we waiting for from the Lord, if he has already given us his only Son?”
God's gift, the gift above all gifts, has been given. Yet we often forget it and keep looking for some other little present from the Lord, as if we had received nothing.
Jesus died for our sins, he rose again, and through him we have the freedom to approach the Father, the assurance of forgiveness and the certainty of eternal life.
Jesus knows suffering and affliction, as David knew them. Isaiah presents him as “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). When you bring him your affliction, you are speaking to the Savior who understands you and who alone can reach out his hand and save you.
You can entrust your afflicted and wounded heart to the one who loved you all the way to the cross. Your cry can in turn become a testimony, and you will be able to tell others: “This afflicted one cried out to the Lord, and the Lord answered him. Try it too and you will see how good the Lord is.”

7. Today, This Cry Can Be Yours

At the beginning there is an anguished heart, then a cry directed to God, and from this encounter a testimony of the Lord's goodness is born. “Today this cry can be mine, today this cry can be yours.”
If you need to say “Lord, save me,” say it with all your heart and he will save you. If you need to say “Lord, forgive me,” say it with all your heart and he will forgive you. If you need comfort, say to him: “Lord, comfort me, lift me up, encourage me.”
If there is danger in your home, in your family, with your children, cry out to the Lord: “Lord, you see the need, intervene.” Sometimes the enemy comes to steal children from within the home itself, and we must cry out to the Lord that they may be redeemed.
If the desire is in your heart, say to him: “Lord, fill me with the Holy Spirit, I need your strength and the abilities that only you can give me.”
Prayer does not need elaborate words, but a sincere heart turning to Christ with a need. If you are afflicted, call on him. If you are weary, take refuge in him. If his Word calls you to obey, simply answer by obeying.
God is good this evening, in the midst of his people, and he is good in the heart of the battle you are facing. The God who listened to David also listens to the one who calls on him with all his heart. “If you came to seek the Lord with all your heart, and not out of mere curiosity, I know that the Lord will reach out his hand to you.” And when the Lord reaches out his hand, the first problem he solves is the forgiveness of sins and the salvation of the soul.

Key Takeaways

We do not know that God is good by hearsay: as with food, we have to taste and see for ourselves.
David did not wait for the anguish to pass before seeking God, he called on him in the midst of affliction, and God answered him, that is, he solved the problem.
Your affliction never makes you invisible in God's eyes: the Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and he lives in the believer.
God does not always offer an immediate explanation, but he offers his presence, and his grace sustains us while we wait.
The greatest proof of God's goodness has already been given: Jesus Christ, who died and rose again for our salvation.

Personal Application

Do you say “God is good” only when everything is going well, or also when the answer is slow to come?
What is afflicting you right now, even for no obvious reason, that you are waiting to see pass before speaking to the Lord about it?
Is there a pain you cannot explain to others that you can entrust to him this evening, without hiding anything?
To whom around you could you say in simple words: “Try it, and you will see how good the Lord is”?
Do you keep waiting for another “little present” from God while forgetting the gift he has already given you in Jesus Christ?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

In what context did David write Psalm 34?

David is on the run from Saul. He seeks refuge among the Philistines, who are nonetheless his enemies, he is recognized and, seized with fear, he pretends to be insane to escape danger (1 Samuel 21). The preacher sees a vulnerable David, far from the one who faced Goliath, and it is out of this difficult moment that his testimony is born: “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him” (Psalm 34:6).

What does “the Lord is near to the brokenhearted” mean?

For the preacher, this is how God's goodness shows itself in this psalm: through his nearness. This word enters the homes where people weep and reaches those who have just received bad news. God does not always offer an immediate explanation, but he assures us of his presence, and for the believer he does not merely draw near: he lives in them.

How can you say “God is good” when the answer is slow to come?

The preacher invites us not to wait for the anguish to pass before seeking God, but to call on him in the very midst of affliction. While we wait, God's grace sustains us and his presence encourages us, just as Jesus' word strengthened Jairus before he saw the solution: “Do not be afraid, only believe.”