”The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever,” Psalm 23:1-6, NIV.
What trails after us?
I was driving to a meeting when I passed a man walking on the sidewalk and smoking. Behind him was a trail of “un-inhaled” smoke. We now call it secondhand smoke. This kind of smoke can still be problematic for some people. I watched it for a moment as it just lingered in the air, because there was no breeze.
I thought of Psalm 23 and wondered what was I leaving behind me. Is it a stench that chokes out life or a sweet smelling aroma of goodness and love?
What lingers in the trail of air behind me?
I guess it all depends on what path I’m on. If it’s a freeway, it’s hit or miss. Sometimes I’m a delightful driver to follow behind, but other times, as my son says, “Did you know you weave within your lane, Mom? No one behind you can figure out if you’re going to change lanes or stick to the one you are in.” I need to apologize to those who have ever driven behind me while I was in a car with people telling a story—I weave. I tend to talk with my hands, and apparently it doesn’t matter if I am at my kitchen table or in a car. My hands that were once at 10 and 2, are now being used as an exclamation point. I am working on it. Honestly!
But what I seriously want to follow me are God’s traits, like goodness and love. However, they aren’t going to appear just because I desire them. They show up after I spend time with Jesus.
Have you ever been to a party and hugged people only to find out that their perfume or cologne is still on your clothes when you got home? And unless you wash your clothes, the scent remains.
We can actually carry Jesus’ “scent,” His character, and have it linger as well. After spending time with Jesus, we can’t help but be filled with His love, joy, peace and so on. When we end our prayers or close our Bibles, the beauty of God’s Spirit and all of God’s traits remain open for us to keep as companionship throughout the day. The Holy Spirit can lead us to do good and right things, and the after effects will trail behind us when we do.
We read about how Jesus treats people with love and compassion, and we want to mimic it. When we do, we are leaving a beautiful aroma of “goodness and love that follows us all the days of our lives,”
behind us.
What are you leaving behind as you pass by someone or hug them? How do you smell?
Not sure how to begin? Think about the words you say to people. “Please and thank you,” smell good.
“Get out of my way; I was here first,” challenge others and are demanding—they don’t smell as good. If you’re still unsure, ask Your Heavenly Father. He’ll show you.
Father,
We want to mimic You in all our ways. We desire to leave a trail of sweet-smelling goodness for others to catch and hopefully be reminded of You.
When we spend time with You, help us linger long enough to smell good and influence our behavior afterward.
We ask for your mercy when we don’t act the way You hope we will, and we leave a stench instead of a pleasant aroma.
Help us to smell good for You.
Amen.
Thank you, Suzie for this word and impactful visualization of the lingering traces of ourselves we leave behind. This is an excellent reminder and is now for me a picture memory to remind me that God lives in me, and in my comings and goings I make an impact on others. I want my she-knows- God-scent to be like the fiery smoking fajitas that pass you in the restaurant that make you say, "oohh, that smells so good...I want that!"