God has created us body, soul and spirit—flesh and blood and breath. He even goes as far as to describe Himself according to our senses in order that we might better understand Him. He gives Himself ears to hear our prayers (Ex. 6:5), and eyes to look to and fro over the earth, seeing whom among the sons of men are righteous (Gen. 7:1). He breathes in the sweet smells of our prayers and sacrifices (Ezekiel 20:41). He tastes the pain of death (Heb. 2:9), and stretches out arms to reach us, to save us (Is. 52:10, Is. 51:5). Why then would He have us ignore the very senses by which He chose to make Himself known to us? God is constantly at the work of revealing more and more of Himself to us. He uses Creation, His Word, His Son, people, relationships, circumstances, and even our senses to show us who He is. I want to know Him, all of Him!

In thinking about experiencing God through all of the senses, I am reminded of Splash Mountain, a flume at Six Flags over Georgia. On a hot, Southern summer’s day at the amusement park, Splash Mountain is highly sought after for both emotional exhilaration and physical relief from the heat. I remember well:

“Standing in line after walking all day, my nostrils filled with the smell of sunscreen, sweat and chlorine, I approach the cart. I take my seat carefully and buckle in. My cart and heartbeat begin to climb with every click of the conveyer belt that pulls us upwards. Our ascent is slow and gradual. The air seems stilled, as we are, by a sense of impending change and the unknown. At the top of the incline, the cart takes a right curve, and I slide into my brother who has also come along for this ride. We laugh with the joy and excitement of being together, of waiting for what is next to come. Quickly, everyone becomes quiet again as the cart briefly pauses before its rapid descent.

“At this time I am sure that many would like the opportunity to turn back, to get off the ride. But it can’t be done. We all signed on for the whole thing from beginning to end. My brother and I are not seasoned riders, but we are not afraid. We spent time watching and observing this ride before deciding to take the plunge and are confident that good things are coming. We grab the bar in front of us and hold on as the cart begins to drop. It seems like “eternity” as we yell and laugh and close our eyes and peek again. In reality it is probably the quickest part of the whole ride. Suddenly, we are met with water, a tidal wave of coolness and refreshing at the bottom as the anticipated splash hits us! The cart rolls back to the loading/unloading dock, and we walk away like new. No longer sweaty, sticky and smelly, we are now cleansed, renewed.”

It is obvious once again to me as I remember that ride on Splash Mountain that God is speaking to us all of the time in many different ways. Some of my experiences of walking with the Lord have been similar to what I experienced at Splash Mountain. It has been a ride of the senses with times of growth, exhilaration, waiting, anticipation, stillness, humbling, decision, refreshing, remaking, and cleansing. And I have experienced Him in other ways as well. Just as God “smells” and “sees,” we smell and see the beauty of His creation, the work of His hands. The Lord “hears” our prayers, and we hear Him speak to answer us. As God reaches out to us, we feel His presence and His touch. God “tastes” the sting of death; so can we taste and see that He is good (Ps. 34:8). It’s time to take the plunge and fully experience God.