Upheld In THE SMELL

A Wafting Stink

This morning I drove through a skunk cloud on my way to media practice for the morning church service.

How do I know it was a cloud? I couldn’t see anything. But BOY OH BOY! All of a sudden, my car absolutely reeked. I checked the road behind me to see if I hit an animal. Didn’t feel like it. I didn’t drive over a bump. Nope, nothing on the road.

But there is no mistaking a skunk smell.

When I got to church I smelled my arms and my scarf, but I swear I was clean. I got inside the church and to my station and found out that another member of the team, who had come the same route as me, had the same experience. We had a good laugh. Our cars stank, but we didn’t. Phew!

Practice commenced. About twenty minutes later, in the middle of singing and music making, our worship leader stopped and asked, “Am I the only one who smells skunk?”

“Me, too!” We threw our hands up in the air.

No, my colleague and I did NOT take it inside with us. I still swear we were clean. But that cloud was close to the church, and it wafted right through the building. It took at least a half hour to drift through and away from the church building. By the time the service began, most of it had dissipated.

A Sweet Aroma

As it turned out, the service was a special one this morning. A couple people yielded their lives to our Lord through baptism. A baby was dedicated. And several people shared things God had been doing through their lives, and special anointing and prayer happened.

Our God is personal with us.

Perhaps the devil was threatened today. The stink of a skunk is powerful. But the sweet aroma of our God is overpoweringly fragrant. Like a flower.

Sin Stinks

As I drove home in my still faintly stinking car, I thought about the odor of sin. Scripture tells us that sin stinks all the way to the nostrils of God. I think the skunk smell must be a good example of what our Father God must endure from us. On a daily basis. I wonder how He stands it?

But then, maybe I don’t have to wonder at all. Father sent His absolutely pure Son, Jesus, to take on that stink in our place. Jesus cleansed us. He blew away the stench when He died on the cross to take our place. Then He gave us His own purity when He rose from the dead and made eternal life available.

Cleaned Up

I am so very grateful that Jesus was not only willing, but eager to come to save us. He washed away that dirty sin, cleaned up the stinky smell and made us presentable to His Father and ours.

Are you grateful? Have you thanked Him lately?

“And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Ephesians 5:2 NKJV).