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"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

To one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life!”

II Corinthians 2:14-16 NKJV

The Christian life is not a playground it is a battleground. The more serious we are concerning the things of God the more heated the battles become. As a matter of fact, if a person who says they are saved is not experiencing any opposition they need to check themselves to make sure of which side they are on. The enemy does not waste his time on people who are not a threat to him, but to those who are he will always come against in the same manner. His mode of operation is to kill, steal, and destroy…but thank God for Jesus Who came to bring us LIFE and LIFE more abundantly! One version of John 10:10 says “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.”

Our life in Christ becomes something better than we ever dreamed of when we follow Him very closely. When we stay close to Him the Word says that He leads us in triumph and at the same time through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. We become a living testimony with a sweet fragrance emitted from us everywhere we go. The fragrance of life that comes from us touches those who are coming to Jesus and to them it is a sweet aroma. It draws them to Jesus because of the stark contrast between it and the stench of this world.

Have you ever been in the room of a person who is dying? No matter what is done there is a terrible smell associated with death that cannot be covered up. It is a rotten stench. Imagine what it is like then to have the fragrance of abundant life walk through the door. People will be drawn to that fragrance…they will want to be near it and they will eventually want to have the same affect too.

What do people smell when they come around you? Are they able to immediately inhale the aroma of Christ? Or is death in the air? God help us to follow Your triumphant leading and be that sweet fragrance in the nostrils of the lost and dying.

Whether on a dung hill, a battlefield, or in a hot fiery trial we can still smell sweet. That is because we are no longer of this world but we are of Christ and have the Holy Spirit richly dwelling within us. A rose in any form is still a rose. Whether fresh, dried, or even crushed it’s beautiful fragrance is always being diffused. The same goes for us. It does not matter where we are or what we are going through, if we are following and God is leading then we are triumphant over all things and the smell of victory, which is a sweet, sweet aroma, lingers in the air. Hallelujah! We are triumphant in Christ! God has it all under control and all He wants us to do is follow Him as He leads!!  

An attitude of gratitude regardless of where He leads keeps that sweet aroma flowing from us. It makes the stench of hell even stronger. The enemy is frightened when we take this position in our lives. The question today is, “is he frightened of you?” If not it is about time for him to be! Let hell get a whiff of your “Jesus smell” and let the devil know you mean business. Let his demons tremble when we enter a place because of the sweetness that is coming from us. We are overcomers! We are more than conquerors! We are a sweet fragrance for the entire world to breath in.

Prayer:

Father, even if You have to dry us out with the heat of trials, or crush us under Your Hand it is our prayer that our fragrance be a beautiful one. Let it be strong and intoxicating to the unbeliever and let it be soft and sweet to those who need to find their way back to You. Thank You Father for leading us. Thank You for using us. We thank You for Your protection and provision. Most of all thank You Jesus for allowing us to spread the knowledge of Your gift of LIFE everywhere we go!

In Jesus Name!

Amen!

Copyright 2001 by Melinda Lancaster