First, awareness. Are we aware of when God engages us? God made us with all the senses, and I doubt that God only comes to us through word.
We are made in the image of God, and we are made with eyes, noses, tongues, mouths, ears, and skin. We touch, listen, speak, smell, and taste.
How has God engaged us?
What examples do the scriptures give us?
In Genesis, God appears to Abraham as a burning pot and torch
In Exodus, God appears as a burning bush
In Job, God comes as the Storm
In 2 Kings, God frequently appears as fire and wind with Elijah
Job 33:14 "For God Speaks in one way,
and in two, though people do not perceive it. (NRSV)
We climbed trees, dangled from ropes, sweated, and faced our fears directly. There were moments where we would wait in line for the next obstacle, and those were moments I took my surroundings in. The smell of the trees, and the wind lightly flowing. The feeling of how my body was bobbing up and down in the wire I was standing on. The roughness of the wood and the cool metal my hands held on to. I was in a different place, literally. My feet were off the ground, but I felt more grounded in that moment.
What do I miss when I am not present in the moment. If I only anticipate God to speak to me in ways that I expect... then what do I lose?
We think we are so great at multitasking. Many of us schedule our times with God. We schedule our devotions, our prayers, and all preconceived notions of how to include God in our scheduled tasks.
What would happen if we took a moment, and just became completely aware of our surroundings. If we became completely present? If we didn't schedule it, but just did it? What would we learn? What would be revealed to us about God?