Do You Stink?

The air was crisp as I left the house for my routine morning walk. A flirtatious, fall breeze blew that rustled the leaves in the trees and swayed my ponytail, as if letting me know the cooler weather and hues of gold and orange already splashing across the greenery, was just the beginning of what is to come.

With my favorite worship tunes blasting, I set off on my mile and half loop at a brisk, steady pace. What a glorious morning, I thought, despite the numerous clouds blocking the rising sun from fully displaying its splendor. I always find such peace and a sense of centering my inner self while enjoying the stirrings of nature first thing in the early hours of a new day.

A dove cooed while perched upon an electrical wire, fanning its tail up and down in an effort to keep balance. Perhaps he was saying hello to the flock of starlings that swooped and swerved high above and just to his left. They danced and played, up and around trees until flying off beyond eye-sight.

With the steady rhythm of my shoes hitting the pavement, I began my conversation with the One Who woke me up. Every morning we meet along my walking path, as I discuss my heart’s cries and desires. Prayers of salvation for those I hold dear who still need His mercy, healing for broken bodies, strength for weary souls, protection over my children and a myriad of other thoughts, feelings, praise and inquiries.

On this particular morning, burdens were pressing and my heart felt heavy, as I attempted to sort my thoughts and frustrations out with my Heavenly Father. I am thankful He is patient and always has an ear willing to listen, even when all that is expressed is complaining-or more accurately, a little whining.

As I walked and talked; however, I found each step, each word, each sentence, becoming lighter and I felt energized. Being in the Presence of the Almighty has a beautiful way of changing your perspective and shifting your focus heavenward, giving you a fresh reason to smile.

Coming upon the halfway mark of my routine, I asked if my Jesus would speak to me, to draw near and remind me of His love. I pressed into the silence after my request, trying to detect the smallest measure of a Voice. Suddenly, movement ahead caught my attention. There, crossing the road, was a skunk.

I slowed my pace so I could see where this fluffy, little creature was going to venture to. I crossed the pavement so I would be on the opposite side and away from his path. He sniffed around the edge of the asphalt and weeds before finally disappearing into the foliage. At first I was thankful, but then realized he had vanished out of sight right at the very spot I needed to turn around and start back home.

My mind raced. Was he still at the edge of the road where my presence could possibly startle him or did he waddle on down into the ditch far from me? Should I keep walking and hit my turn around mark anyway? I knew if I didn’t walk all the way to that area of my path, I would not get my full mile and half exercise in for that day. I slowly kept walking forward, until finally deciding the risk was not worth the reward. Why take a chance on getting hosed down by skunk spray?

Reluctantly, I turned around and headed back to my house. Oh well, I guess I’m close enough, I thought, trying to comfort the flesh in me-and my OCD tendencies with certain things, like checking off my “to do” list boxes to perfection. Stopping short of my mile and half, even by just a little, really burned my bacon, as we say in the south.

And then I heard Him. Not audibly, but in my inner self. “I have given you spiritual eyes to see such dangers and heed the warnings, yet many times they go ignored.” He then began to explain further.

“Just like how you saw the skunk ahead of you on your path, it was a warning of possible danger. You had a choice in that moment. Gratify the desires of the flesh and take your chances, or make a wise choice and steer completely clear of any danger. Too many times, my children do not consider the alerts from the Holy Spirit or the scripture, and keep walking straight into harms way.”

First I praised and thanked my Lord for the answer to my simple request moments prior to speak to me. Then I began to ponder what I had just seen, heard and experienced.

One of the functions of the Holy Spirit is to be our Helper. Jesus told his disciples just prior to His crucification that He must leave them, but He would send a Helper that would lead them into all truth, would be their comforter and their guide. (*Jesus discusses the Holy Spirit in several verses in John chapters 14, 15, and 16)

What loving Father does not warn their children of impending danger? Would you allow your child to touch a hot stove? Of course not. Neither does our Lord leave us to fend for ourselves in our faith walk and will alert us to the trappings of sin. Along with the Holy Spirit, He also gives us godly, wise counsel from family and friends within the body of Christ and we have His very words in the Bible to use as a road map that tells us the sinful, pitfalls we should avoid. (As a matter for fact, some even say to flee, run, and get away from them as quickly as possible)

But just like me, we fight our flesh. God will give us a warning, and we see it, but our flesh is determined to do things the way it had planned all along. It wants to remain in control and call the shots. Or, we take a gamble and get as close as we can, but still try to stay far enough back so as not to be injured; testing, tempting and pressing our luck with the darkness of sin. How close can I get, and still be OK?

Worse still, we can hear the alarms going off, yet keep trotting along because we are rebellious and refuse to surrender completely to the Lord. I want what I want, when I want it. I don’t care about the consequences. I only care about fulfilling my desires. This is a very dangerous mindset indeed, and if you find yourself in the shadow of those sentences, it would be best to stop reading and start repenting for your disobedience.

Let us be thankful our Lord has given us the wisdom, discernment and strength to overcome the snares of the devil, but dear friends- what good is having a security system if you constantly leave it disarmed?

A few minutes after I had turned around, a truck came up from behind me on their way to fulfill their day’s activities. The breeze from the passing vehicle blew across my back and I smelled the distinct odor of skunk before it dissipated. Right then, I knew the creature was still at the edge of the road and was startled when the truck thundered past. And we all know a skunk is going to do, what a skunk is going to do. If I had not heeded the warning, that could have been my fate.

The scriptures are clear. The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23) Stop ignoring the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. Quit turning a blind eye to the teaching of the scriptures. Remove your hands from over your ears when a trusted church member or pastor is trying to tell you of impending destruction. Stay alert, guarded, protected from the attacks of the enemy. Christ Jesus desires to keep you as a pure bride for His return.

Take the warnings seriously and turn around before it’s too late. Trust me, you do not want the stench of death all over you. There is not enough tomato juice in the world to wash that foul odor off your body. What you need, is to be washed in the Blood of the Lamb.