Funny when you think about it … all
the things that make up a relationship.
It doesn’t matter how young or old a person is, everyone brings some form
of baggage into the alliance.
If we really stopped to think about
it, what else do we bring into our friendships, partnerships and marriage that
makes or breaks the deal in the connections made with fellow man?
It wasn’t until something my husband said and
did recently that caused me to dig deeper into what he felt was my contribution
into this long-term deal people call “marital bliss.”
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back each week to participate in the weekly challenges. Join us in our new series as we spend time in
the study of Daily Favor Prayers.
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the bottom of this week’s post.
Don't miss out on this week's challenge
(below).
Showered with Favor
It was morning when I walked into the
kitchen and my husband was sitting at the table.
“Come here.” He said stretching
out his arm directing me into position.
Standing in front of him he took hold
of my shoulders causing me to bend forward.
As he pulled me close he started smelling my face.
“What are you doing”, I asked inquisitively quickly backing away from
his embrace stating: “Unauthorized sniffage!”
“I was smelling your aroma and the Noxzema on your face.”
(I had just washed up for the day as I normally do). “It
reminds me of when we first got married.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Your aroma, it’s
what you brought into our marriage.”
Still baffled but intrigued, I reluctantly
waited to see how this would play out in his favor (with him not getting in the
dog house so early in the morning), I asked what he meant.
Sitting back in his chair he took me
down “smellory” lane.
“It was the day after the wedding when I watched you spread
out your things on the bathroom counter.
I smelled the stuff on you, but never saw how it went together.
All the sweet smells; that aroma bathed the room … your
shampoo … I love the smell of your hair … Wind Song perfumes, soap, facial
cleanser and hand cream. Even your
clothes smelled like lavender.
The aromas bring memories to mind. It’s something you
still present every day and I love that about you.”
I responded with, “What a sweet thing to say.” My
mind took a detour dwelling way too much on what he said, so I didn’t have a
quick comeback giving him a compliment that he probably expected and deserved.
For the rest of the day I was basking
in his adoration. Whether deserving or not, it made me want to shower him with
lavish praise and favor. It reminded me
of how God must feel. When we bring a
sweet aroma of praise in worship or service, He showers us with His favor.
That night we spent time singing
praise songs before retiring to bed. Our
spirits were calm, relaxed and full of joy.
Not only did our physical bodies have a clean smell, our hearts and
attitudes had that sweet aroma God longs for us to bring into relationship with
Him.
The Aroma of Your Heart
Being honored by my husband with his
thoughts on the aromas that I have brought into our marriage and what they mean
to him is a real blessing, especially when my attitude doesn’t always reflect my
outward aroma. His comments made me feel
good. I even wanted to cook him an elegant dinner! Wanted being the key word … it didn’t happen
quite the way I hoped, but still worked out great.
Throughout the week I thought about that one phrase my husband said; it preyed on my mind and led me to the Word of God. I asked myself, “What have I brought into this marriage with the aroma of my heart?”
There have been times when I’ve caught
myself wondering how I ever put up with some things all these years in marriage,
but then I look at my own life. I can’t
figure out what makes hubby stay with such a stinky attitude at times. This is what we’ve both learned.
Having the right attitude when you
enter into prayer makes all the difference.
We have learned to pray for the other person and their needs over our
own, and in turn we love to show one another tremendous favor without expecting
something in return.
My husband is my best friend, but he’s
not always at the top of my list when it comes to being a spouse. Not because I don’t love him, but because I
get disappointed in life sometimes and expect him to figure things out if I can’t. He never wavers, never wearies or grows tired
of my “we’ve got to do this” attitude.
Even in all his sweaty clothes that
take on a scent of their own, his heart aroma remains the same.
Drenched in the Wrong Scent
Not all outward aromas are pleasing or
ones that you want to remember. There
have been some people that when they walk by your eyes water and you have to
hold your breath like Olympic medalist Amanda Beard does under water until they
pass.
Then there are others that seem to
have drenched themselves in scent and when I mean drenched, I mean DRENCHED! Heavy perfume in a choir setting has more
than once caused my throat to close up and made it very difficult to sing.
So many times we splash on an outward
scent hoping to mask the stench that is in our heart. We drench ourselves with the wrong scents of unforgiveness,
contention, discord, bitterness, anger and anxiety. Were you aware that fear actually has a
scent? All emotions do, and that’s why
we often attract the wrong things.
Instead our entire personage should be
expelling the aroma of love, joy, peace, kindness … in other words, the fruit
of the spirit we received upon salvation through Jesus Christ.
“But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control.
Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV)
The
Bible tells us what God actually responds to in our actions that causes Him to
show favor, is the “aroma” of Jesus He finds in us. Think of it like this. If we are obedient to follow the discipleship
Jesus taught in the Bible, that is what God sees. He doesn’t see us, but the fragrance of Jesus in
us as recorded in 2 Corinthians 2:15.
“Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising
up to God.
But this fragrance is perceived differently by
those who are being
saved
and by those who are perishing. (2 Corinthians 2:15 NLT)
“For we are a sweet perfume of Christ to God in those being saved
and in those perishing.” (The Berean Literal
Bible)
“For we are a
sweet fragrance to God in The Messiah among those who have life and among those
who perish.”
(Aramaic Bible in Plain English)
God
looks on the heart and if the attitude reflects what is in His heart, favor is
sure to follow and He will cause favor to grow in relationships of ours. (Luke 2:52)
To be honest when I first
caught “wind” of what the Lord put in my heart to write about on the topic “sweet
aroma,” I wrestled with it for days. All
the elements were there except one, and if I don’t feel right about something I
will wait to post/publish it until it’s settled in my spirit.
When I sat down to put all my thoughts
into words I was sidetracked, distracted and non-focused. I just couldn’t wrap
myself into what I was doing. Finally I
shut down the computer and went to bed, knowing that my post wouldn’t be at the
usual time. Until I feel it’s something
God wants me to share in His Words, I keep silent.
Throughout the night I prayed trying
to figure out what I was doing wrong.
The Lord reminded me of something I wrote several years ago when things
don’t gel or come together like they should. Look at it from a different
angle. That was it; I needed to take
A.N.A. – A New Approach at why the elements weren’t connecting. When I did, it clicked.
I was trying to connect the favor of
God to certain incidents when all along I should have been looking at how God
connected favor to mankind, from mankind.
It was about relationship (or relational) favor among the brethren that
I was missing. This is what God wanted me to learn from my husband’s statement:
“… what we bring into the relationship.”
As soon as I looked at things through
the eyes of the other person I noticed something that was a major element in
all the relationships that made them work.
It was prayer.
The Iron and the Cord
Now looking at things in an entirely
different perspective tons of illustrations came to mind from the Bible. Royalty, men, women, friends, spouses, siblings
... you name it they have a common “scent” about them. Some relationships faired sweet; some not so
fragrant. Those whom God distributed
favor to always started out in prayer before moving forward.
The Shepherd David was ordained by God
to be the next king, however King Saul the current ruler despised his replacement
and spent his adult life hunting him down to be killed. An unusual relationship emerged during this
time span, that of Prince Jonathan and David.
Scriptures tell us that the two men were so close that even death didn’t
separate their loyalty. (Jonathan's son received favor from David when he was king after the Prince was killed in battle.)
How was that possible? Through time spent in prayer and fellowship
with God, David found grace in the eyes of the Lord which caused the bond to be
developed. Each person brought strength
into the relationship in various ways, and when they worked together became a
strong force that even the King couldn’t stop.
The Bible refers to that kind of relationship as “iron sharpening iron.”
“As iron
sharpens iron, so a man sharpens
the countenance
of his friend.” (Proverbs 27:17 NKJV)
Scripture gives the framework of the
value of a friend, whether it is in marriage or any relationship.
Ultimately we are rewarded with the power of
God through His favor to grow the companionship if it includes Him as the first
party in the endeavor.
“Two are
better than one,
because they have a good reward for their labor.
For if they fall one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
for he has no one to help him up.
Again, if two lie down together they will keep warm;
but how can one be warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
because they have a good reward for their labor.
For if they fall one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
for he has no one to help him up.
Again, if two lie down together they will keep warm;
but how can one be warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
(Ecclesiastes
4:9-12 NKJV)
So many names came to my thinking when
I looked how certain individuals gained favor from another in an unusual
setting. Just to mention a few: Abraham
with all men, Joseph with a Pharaoh, Nehemiah with the King, Esther who ended
up marrying a King … all a result of time spent in sweet fellowship with God
through the words of praise and thanksgiving in prayer.
Favored Hubby … or wife
Ah, but here lies the truth … Solomon’s
words ring sweet in my ears when he said,
“He who finds a wife finds a good thing,
And obtains favor from the LORD.” (Proverbs 18:22 NKVJ)
And obtains favor from the LORD.” (Proverbs 18:22 NKVJ)
I would encourage you to see this verse
in the light of a godly man as well.
All relationships of God will find
favor when they operate according to His plan sharpening one another’s
strengths, bringing value into the friendship.
However, when a husband (or wife) values their spouse as a godly influence,
he/she will receive favor from the Lord because they see the other person as
Jesus does – Highly Favored and valued!
The love of Christ is reflected
through time spent in prayer for a spouse.
It’s what each brings into the relationship that makes the person (inside
and out) a “sweet aroma” to enjoy whenever they are together.
This Week’s Challenge:
Sweeten Your Aroma
It was fun thinking on the things my
husband and I have brought into our relationship, both now and before our marriage. Although sweet aromas on both sides filled
the air, it wasn’t the only thing we toted with us.
Emotional baggage too heavy to carry, stench of
old relationships, pockets empty, but hearts full came with the package. However, the “cord” that tied us and began in
our teens remains today. Daily prayer together
and alone with the Lord is what leads us into favor from God, mankind and one
another.
Hubby didn’t realize he opened a
carnal heart of thinking when it came to how stingy I’ve been in some of my
relationships over the years. With a
repentant heart, it brought me to the mercy seat of God in prayer for a new
bottle of fragrant anointing oil I could pour out on others, especially my
husband.
Our challenge this week is to prayerfully
look at what we’re bringing into each of our relationships, mainly that of God
and our spouse if married.
Are we coming to the table smelling
all sweet and squeaky clean on the outside, but are stinking up the room with our
bitter attitudes? It’s easy to pick
apart someone else for their faults, without seeing the good in them. What if it were the other way around?
Be honest before God and yourself by
taking a good look at your heart. If you
have to, force yourself to look into a mirror and ask:
1 – What am I bringing into this
relationship that would cause God to shower favor on it?
2 – Am I the one (still looking at
yourself) stinking up things?
3 – What aroma have I already given
off today, and girl/boy what are you going to do to change it?
No matter who the “haters” are in your
life (like King Saul was with David), they can’t do anything to you if your
heart is right with God. The Heavenly Father
can “smell” a heart for Him anywhere, and favors the aroma you bring into fellowship
with Him.
With a new attitude and song in your
heart it won’t be long before a sweet aroma of love, grace, mercy and favor
fill each relationship you are privileged to have in your life!
Hallelujah, Lord we
praise You. Hallelujah, Lord we love
You.
Let our “new” song be
a sweet aroma of praise!
Sweet Aroma of Praise (by Discover
Worship formally Worship Today)
This is a song I have taught to our congregation(s).
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Until next time, a fragrant attitude is
rewarded by God’s favor.
“Is that sweet aroma coming from you My child?”
Jesus Christ
*Unless
noted, the names in articles are changed to protect the individual(s) privacy.
Note: Emphasis
is given in some scriptures to show clarity or understanding and is not to take
away from the inspirited Word of God.
When used,
the words satan or devil are not capitalized deliberately, because we give him
no place in our lives.
Disclaimer:
Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical
issues, but geared toward spiritual awareness.
What’s New This Week: Click
on the photo or link.
In
favored scents of: Myrrh, Frankincense & Rose of Sharon
NOTE to Worship
Leader/Music Director: You can purchase the music, track and sheet music for your choir/musicians
at Discover Worship. We did & are pleased with the package. http://www.discoverworship.com/store/sweet-aroma-1816
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Image: Baggage in Marriage Showered in God's Favor Wendy Hiler in Anne of Green Gables Growing God's Way in Favor Threefold Cord
Wendy Hiler in Anne of Green Gables, Daily Favor Blog, Daily Favor Prayer, Discipleship, Favored1, Prayer, Sweet Aroma, Anointing Oil, When Iron Sharpens Iron, Christian Living., Facing the Giants, Anna of Green Gables