Jeanne Stewart - FRAGRANCE OF THE BRUISE

Fragrance of the Bruise

Jeanne Stewart, Oklahoma

On a typical morning around the Stewart home, there are many distinct smells: freshly brewed coffee, toasted bread, the aroma of clean bath soap, hair spray, my husband’s after shave, but most of all, the refreshing soft smell of my daughter whisking by me with a kiss and a “bye mama -- love ya,” as she leaves for college. As I walk by her bedroom on her way out the door I always get the last whiff of body mist she has just sprayed before leaving her room. The lingering sweet aroma of my daughter brings a smile to my face, and I whisper, “Bless and protect, Lord, and be in her day.”

We as children of God bring a smile to our Father’s face when we speak of Christ through our victories of overcoming the hard places of life. Our words become like a pleasing fragrance that lingers bringing glory to our Father. In our willingness to only speak positive and not negative we move the atmosphere as in worship, and bring God honor. For we who have fallen morally or been broken, shattered, and then restored and forgiven, have become true worshipers. For now we know our Savior as a loving and forgiving Lord.

Brokenness and wounds give a lingering sweet aroma that is acceptable to our God (Read Psalm 51). It is a fragrance the enemy of our soul recognizes as the anointing, and he has to back up and flee. Anointing comes forth on those called to warfare, in the power of the words we speak. There is a fragrance from our past suffering that only our Lord truly understands. In Isaiah 42 verse 3, God’s Word proclaims . . . “a bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out.” You see, our Father God knows where each one has come out from, and if we will allow Him to, He takes the bruising and pain of our past life and turns it into blessings.

To many, giving the Lord Jesus praise and honor when being blessed comes so easily. But it is harder to see the Lord moving in their lives through suffering and hard times. Whether it be the day-to-day living in a sin-natured world, or the difficulties with health, family or personal weaknesses, past failures often loom up, and lost pride changes to anger. Anger is a door to our past hurts and wounds. Going back through that door allows self-pity to attach to us once more, then failure becomes a reality which self-pity feeds on. We must not go back through that open door, we must close it! Punishing ourselves repeatedly for past mistakes causes us unnecessary pain and distress, and gives entertainment to the enemy of our soul, as he enjoys watching us destroy ourselves again and again. As long as we embrace and continue to remember the past, we will not leave it. We cannot change the past, so we must see that door closed in the spirit. We must embrace the future, the now, in Christ alone. We put aside the wounds and the past hurts with all the offenses that brought such deep pain. Indeed, dear friend, put a stop with prayer and praise -- your two most powerful weapons of war in God’s kingdom. Realize that your praise manifests the presence of God and so reminds Satan that he has lost control of your emotions by the blood of Jesus that was sacrificed for you, along with an aroma of suffering in our Lord at Calvary. Isaiah 53:5 proclaims, “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

Reading from 2 Corinthians chapter 2 beginning with verse 14, “. . . thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him; for we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death, to the other, the fragrance of life.”

Let us then pull all the putrid garbage of our past into a pile, step onto the top of that pile and proclaim victory with a shout unto our Lord. We then carry a lovely fragrance from the bruises that may have crushed, but not destroyed us, as we share in His sufferings, just as we shall share in His glory.

We must remember that great loss, whether physical, material, emotional, or even spiritual is a signpost before HIS great promotion onto our next level path. We have made many stops along the way through this long journey of growing up spiritually IN HIM. Each with its own time of learning and time of decision, we have been changing.

No two people will be just alike in their brokenness, the crushing they have walked through. But there is a sweet aroma on us who have died to our own wants and have come alive to HIS ways and HIS thoughts for we can do nothing outside of HIM.

As we remember who we are in HIM and speak forth words of life and not death, HE will return to us all the loss, all the relationships, all the wealth, all the needs and desires of our hearts and we will once again sing. As the sorrow and sighing fades away we will be speaking HIS promises of life as we hide HIS word in our hearts.

SITE-MAP & GUEST-BOOK