Savor—it’s practically the definition of the Thanksgiving holiday. It’s the smell of turkey in the oven, the aroma of cinnamon drifting from a pie cooling on the counter, or the taste of that one dish you look forward to every year.

Of course, it also includes the dish you don’t look forward to but eat anyway because it’s part of tradition. For me as a child, that dish was lutefisk—the Scandinavian, lye-soaked fish my great-grandmother faithfully brought each year, which carried a “savor” all its own. From my vantage point, only a faithful few in our family truly enjoyed it.

Savor includes both smell and taste, and, especially, it carries the idea of lingering enjoyment.

This year, I’ll be hosting a traditional turkey dinner with family and friends. But whether your table looks like a classic Thanksgiving spread or a collection of your own traditions, a good Thanksgiving includes the anticipation of flavors, the pleasure of aromas…and the joy of leftovers.

That idea of savoring—holding onto something good instead of moving on too quickly—appears in a passage of Scripture in which we often overlook the word itself.

In Matthew 16, Jesus asked His disciples a pivotal question: “Whom say ye that I am?”

Peter answered with a powerful declaration, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus affirmed his answer with words worth remembering: “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”

What follows is one of the doctrinal highlights of the Gospels: “upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

But in the emphasis we give to Jesus’ declaration, we sometimes miss Peter’s lack of savoring.

For just a few verses later, when Jesus began to speak of His coming suffering and death, Peter rebuked Him. And Jesus responded with a startling statement: “Get thee behind me, Satan…for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men” (Matthew 16:23).

Peter had received profound truth directly from God, but he didn’t savor it. He didn’t linger in it. He didn’t hold onto it. And because he didn’t savor the things of God, he acted on fleshly—and in this case, even satanic—thinking.

It’s striking when you think about it. Peter didn’t reject truth. He didn’t argue against it. He had just boldly declared it.

But he didn’t hold onto it. He didn’t let it settle in. He didn’t give it time to shape his thinking or recalibrate his perspective as he moved on to the next moment.

Unfortunately, we do the same.

We hear truth preached. We read it devotionally. We nod in agreement when a verse pierces our hearts.

But then the moment passes. A schedule demands our attention. A conversation distracts us. A problem presses in. And before we realize it, that truth has slipped from both our minds and our living.

It’s not because the truth isn’t powerful. It’s because we don’t savor it as we should.

Scripture often describes truth as something we experience with our senses—a kind of spiritual taste:

• God invites us to taste His goodness: “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him” (Psalm 34:8).
• God describes His Word as sweet: “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103).
• God calls us to taste His grace: “If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious” (1 Peter 2:3).

So how do we move from simply tasting to actually savoring the things of God?

It’s not complicated; it just requires intention.

1. Slow down.

Savoring never happens in a hurry. You don’t savor a meal while rushing out the door. You don’t savor a conversation when your mind is somewhere else. And you don’t savor truth when you move on from it the moment the service ends or the devotional closes.

Psalm 46:10 holds the key: “Be still, and know that I am God….” There is something about the knowledge of God that can only come through stillness. There must be times when we pause if we are to savor the goodness of God and knowledge of His presence in our lives.

Speaking from experience, it’s easy to blame the pace of our lives or the demands of our days for our lack of stillness. But this is a personal decision. We must choose to carve out moments to be still in His presence.

2. Meditate on it.

Biblical meditation is not emptying the mind to see what appears; it is focusing the mind on the truth of what is. It is deliberate thinking on God—His ways, His Word, and His goodness.

My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. (Psalm 63:5–6)

I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands. (Psalm 143:5)

O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. (Psalm 119:97)

Biblical meditation is the quiet return of your thoughts to a truth God has given you. It’s replaying a verse in your mind while washing dishes. It’s revisiting a sermon thought while driving. It’s taking time while you read the Bible to ask, “What does this show me about God? About myself? About how I should respond today?”

Savoring involves reflection, contemplation—meditation.

3. Share truth with others.

The natural outflow of meditation is conversation: “I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings” (Psalm 77:12).

Like a good meal that is best enjoyed in company, our savoring of the things of God grows deeper when we talk about it with others. When we share what God is teaching us, that truth settles more firmly into our own lives.

God designed us to strengthen one another this way—to speak of His works, His character, and His truth together. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16).

Just as Thanksgiving flavors linger long after the meal is finished, the things of God are meant to linger long after the moment they are first received.

The goodness of God and the greatness of His Word are too rich to only taste once.