SENSES IN CREATION
a contemplative meditation
Using our five senses to experience God’s world from his viewpoint we can slow down and draw nearer to him.
At the end of each section pause – is there anything God is prompting you to talk with him about? Take as much time as you need before moving on to the next section. You might like to write down or draw what comes to mind.
If at any point you feel distracting thoughts intruding, make a short note of them and carry on. There will be an opportunity later to pick up on anything important.
LISTEN
Close your eyes and listen to the sounds around you. Are they manmade or natural, loud or soft, intrusive or soothing? Pick one particular sound and listen to it for a few moments. What strikes you about the sound, how might God feel about this sound?
Keep very quiet and listen for the stillness of creation beneath the noise.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. Psalm 19:1-4
SMELL
Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. 2 Corinthians 2:15
Keeping your eyes closed, notice the smells around you. Wet or dry, manmade or natural, subtle or overpowering? Try to describe what attracts or repels in these scents. How might God interpret the smells around you?
LOOK
The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:12
Now look around at God’s creation, what is in the farthest distance, what is at your feet? Choose something natural to look at in detail, a leaf or flower, a rock or a creature. Notice the intricacy of God’s design, his attention to detail. What strikes you about the object you are studying? What might God see when he looks at it?
TOUCH
When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers – the moon and the stars you set in place – what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? Psalm 8:3-4
The human hand contains about 100,000 nerves – and our brains use all the signals from these nerves to interpret and shape the world around us.
Pick up a natural object hold it gently with your eyes shut, what do your fingers tell you about it? Rough / smooth, damp / dry, warm / cold?
God knows and loves everything in the universe to this intimate level of detail, including you.
TASTE
It may be that there is something edible that you can forage from around you, but please don’t pick anything that might be poisonous. Take the piece of food/fruit you brought with you, take a bite and savour it on your tongue. What sensations do you experience? (NB – don’t throw away the pips/stone – you’ll need it later!)
Wisdom says…
“Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed…
...learn to use good judgement.”
But Folly says…
“Stolen water is refreshing;
food eaten in secret tastes the best!” Proverbs 9:5-6 and 17
Our tongues are also incredibly sensitive, able to distinguish both texture and taste, telling us if something is edible or not, but sometimes they can deceive us. There are many flavours and textures which are pleasing to our taste buds, but if we eat too much sugary or fatty or salty food it’s not good for us!
Taste and see that the Lord is good. Psalm 34:8
God knows what is best for us not just in what we physically eat, but in our whole lives if we surrender them to him.
God, thank you for the senses you gave us,
enabling us to interact with you, your creation and each other.
Teach us through your Holy Spirit to experience your world as you do.
Show us by the example of Jesus how to love the world as he did. Amen.
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Check back through any notes you made of thoughts that distracted you. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal if there is anything that you need to continue to talk with God about. Spend as much time in prayer as you need.