The Five Senses

“O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusts in Him.”  Psalm 34:8

 “He that hath ears to hear let him hear.”  Matthew 11:15

 “Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.”  John 12:3

 “That they should seek the LORD, if haply they might feel after Him and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us.”  Acts 17:27

Each one of these verses contains one or more references to the five senses–sight, hearing, feeling, smelling, and tasting.  God desires that we use all five senses as we worship Him.  We TASTE the sweetness of His kind and merciful Spirit.  To truly follow after Christ means that we consume His word on a daily basis just like we sit down at the table to partake of the good food that He has provided.  God’s word nourishes our spirits and gives us strength to face each day with confidence and hope.  We SEE His protection over our lives in keeping us from dangers both seen and unseen.  We can look back and see how God has brought us through trials and tribulations and then look ahead to the future with the confidence that He will always keep us in the palm of His mighty hand.

We HEAR His still small voice in the dark of the night when we are fearful and anxious, when our troubles seem to overwhelm us.  As the old gospel hymn says, “He whispers sweet peace to me.”  Find a place without distraction to speak to the Lord and listen for His voice as He speaks within our spirits.  I remember an episode from a television show in which the family, who are portrayed as believers, were making fun of folks who said that God spoke to them.  God doesn’t need to speak audibly to us.  He has many ways in which to get our attention.  If God has something that He wants us to know, then it behooves us to listen.

We all recognize the fragrance of rain upon a land that has been dry and parched, a fragrance that refreshes and supplies much needed water to trees and flowers, filling the lakes and streams, providing life-sustaining water to folks.  In the same way, we can SMELL the refreshing rain of the Holy Spirit as He washes away cares and sorrows bringing a fragrance of grace and peace to anoint our weary souls.  We can’t physically FEEL the Lord, that is, touch His face or His hands, but we can touch others with a caring, gentle hand to let them know that we understand and that Jesus loves them.  However, we can feel His presence with us if we will abide in His love.  The writer of Hebrews was so right when he wrote that the Lord is “not far from every one of us”.  He is as close as we want Him to be.