Refreshing Him With Praise

How to Please God: Praise is a sweet smelling savor

Throughout the Old Testament, sacrifices made to God were likened to a sweet smelling savor.  Essentially, this is a wonderful smelling perfume or scent.  Praise, thanksgiving, and a submitted life are likened to these sacrifices in the New Testament.

I was reminded earlier today that our praise is like a sweet aroma to God.  I had been working on some things and decided to wash my hands.  If you’re anything like me, I love scented hand soaps and candles.  As I lathered my hands, the scent of Gardenias filled the air and I had to bend down to get a better sniff!

It may sound silly but something so simple can truly rejuvenate your day! 

It’s much the same when I smell cookies baking; I am reminded of childhood days at my grandmother’s house.  When I smell rain, I remember splashing in puddles as a teenager with my best friend Cristina and drinking hot chocolate with marshmallow cream on top.  I can still envision the marshmallow cream all over our faces as we attempted to drink; the cream seals the top of the cup completely, by the way!

The point is, scents do something to us.

Education

In fact, during my training as a school teacher, we were instructed to burn candles or have air fresheners in the classroom.  No, it wasn’t due to all the bodies being in the same room.  It was because studies have shown that we remember smells vividly.

Information we learn in the presence of a particular smell can be easily recalled later in life when that smell is presented to us again.

That’s why smells bring back such vivid memories! 

This is another reason why women and men alike often invest in a signature fragrance or cologne; the mere scent anywhere in the world will remind their loved ones of them!

It is a very powerful sense!

Aromatherapy

Interestingly, some scents even encourage relaxation.  Many aromatherapy companies sell the following scents because of their powers to affect the mind and body:

·         Lavender, chamomile, and Jasmine relax the body and relieve stress.

·         Bergamot is said to rejuvenate and refresh.

·         Rose is calming.

·         Neroli, a scent extracted from bitter oranges, rejuvenates and energizes.

The benefits are so well-known that even forward-thinking companies like mine provide teas and scented air fresheners in these scents free of charge for their employees!  And massage businesses consistently scent their rooms with these fragrances to enhance the atmosphere of relaxation.

My question this morning: 

If our praise is translated into a scent for God…

·         Could it be that our praise makes Him lean just a bit closer in our lives to take a second whiff of the glory we are sending up? 

·         Could it be that your praise reminds Him of all we’ve done to serve Him and all our glorious memories together? 

·         Could it be that our praise relaxes, refreshes, and rejuvenates God, energizing Him to move in our lives even greater?

Could be! 

In Genesis 8:20-21, we find that when Noah offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God, following the flood, that “the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake.”

Could it be?  Have you praised Him today?