Smells Good!

I recently got my sense of smell back. Over the years I’ve had sinus issues that have affected my sense of smell. Recently the doctor put me on different medication and I can smell much better. It’s not that my sense of smell was completely gone; it just didn’t function nearly as well as it could. It’s crazy how the ability to smell affects my ability to taste things. As I write this, I can smell something in the background that my wife put in the room to enhance the “feel” of the room. It smells like fresh flowers! I usually caution my sellers about putting too much smell into their house when we’re trying to sell it. I’ve seen many buyers get suspicious when all they can smell is some sort of “fake smell” in the house. I do think chocolate chip cookies make a good fragrance as well as a freshly cleaned or painted house!

God loves smells too. I often find myself giving physical attributes to God. I sometimes think of Him as having a face, a nose, etc… I don’t know if He actually has similar features as the humans He created, but it helps me to imagine what He might look like. I came across the passage in Exodus when The Lord is giving instructions for the altar of incense. Incense is a substance that is burned and gives off a sweet smell. I think the Lord loves to smell. Check this out…

34 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take fragrant spices – gum resin, onycha and galbanum – and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, 35 and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. 36 Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. 37 Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the Lord. (Exodus 30:34-37 NIV)

There are some smells that take me back to my childhood or a place in my past where I first smelled that particular aroma. I believe the smell is very much interconnected with my life. I remember the smell of the first barber shop, the old country store, the feed store, the tire store, etc… I want to be able to smell the Presence of the Lord. I also want Him to enjoy the fragrance of my life. I really think that my humility, service and my worship is a sweet smelling incense to His heart.

I was reminded of a song the Matt Redman recorded years ago as a spontaneous time of worship that happened in the studio called: “Prayers of The Saints”.

I want my prayers, my songs, my life to be a sweet smelling incense/fragrance to the Lord.

Pressing On!

Dwayne