Inhale My Sweetness
Beloved, My instructions for you this day are this; INHALE MY SWEETNESS! Inhale the very essence of who I am. To do so will take only a few moments of time with Me…a few moments away from the busyness of your life. Make the sacrifice. I promise you it will be worthwhile. I know sometimes you need a little help…a few inspirational ideas so; I have chosen to give you some examples in order to stir your heart.
Relax and take a deep breath and confess with your mouth, “I will inhale and receive the sweetness of the Lord today. I say the name Jesus and the fragrance of His person is poured out in me.”
Close your eyes and remember a scent which has brought you pleasure. It could have been the aroma of a rose when you buried your face in its petals or wafts of fresh bread being baked as it filled the atmosphere around you creating deep hunger…so much hunger you could image cutting the first slice…you could see butter melting into every tiny crevice. It could be the scent of a baby fresh from the bath all covered in lotion as they emanated a fragrance of innocence and love which demanded a response of sweet kisses for your heart was enraptured.
Beloved, there are so many examples of inspiration to choose from like rain on a spring day, perfume on the one you love, the smell of a new car, freshly ploughed fields, a new puppy breathing on your neck, the smell of someone you love as they enfold you in their embrace, fresh coffee, cookies just out of the oven and so many more. All are personal and have the power to evoke a sense of well-being. They are reference points to help you inhale My sweetness…to experience My aroma by remembering something with which you are familiar.
Go ahead! Take a chance and breathe Me in. Do so knowing I am forever near you. Receive by faith and know I am infusing you with My essence so that everywhere you go others will stop, inhale and experience Me even though they may not know Me (2 Corinthians 2:14-15). Come and enjoy My fragrance just as I enjoy yours. Breathe Me in by consciously acknowledging each breath as such thereby, experiencing an infusion which can never be taken away.
Beloved, I want to so change the paradigm of your thinking about Me and My essence which is ever present and has been from the very beginning…and will be to the very end of this natural life only to continue on and on and on and on. You get the point. I am never-ending and ever-present for you.
My fragrance is transformative and takes on many aromas throughout your life to become like a balm of healing in times of need, a spring like refreshment after a long battle, the sweet smell of a baby’s innocence in times of receiving forgiveness, or a pool of refreshing after a long desert experience.
Yes, breathing Me in needs to become as natural to you as breathing in the normal scents of everyday life. In fact, My aroma should be allowed by you to overrule all offending odors of unforgiveness, offenses, accusations, blame, criticism, fear, rejection, abandonment, anxiety, hopelessness, feeling unloved or unwanted, feeling insufficient or not up to the task. Instead, walk in the aroma of a love which holds no offense nor keeps account of any wrong (Ephesians 5:2; 1 Corinthians 13:5).
Yes, I am sweeter than the sweetness of delicate cakes, which can cause your mouth to water and make you want even more. Like a drug, My essence fills the deepest parts of your soul, your desires and does so down to a cellular level without the dangerous side effects of drugs, their very temporary or devastating results.
Therefore, come to My table…the King’s table and let Me pour My fragrance over you until your heart is encapsulated with drops of concentrated, poignant, anointed oil which drips from My fingers…which drips from My heart. In doing this, your hard places…your stony places will absorb who I am one drop at a time until all is made new…until all is so pliable that when squeezed by life only My essence will be released. Come experience the transforming aromas of My heart made just for you and the oil of joy will fill your life. Come and breathe My essence…My fragrance and be transformed.
Seed Time, Harvest And A Persistent Heart
Beloved, I am the Lord God…your Lord and God who loves you with unlimited passion and desire. I and I alone am to be the heart of your dreams…the heart of dreams only I can fulfill. I am the Soil, the Light, the Sound and I am the one and only Living Water. Every aspect of living well is housed in Me.
When you come aside with Me on a concentrated and intimate level to let Me breathe in you, then all aspects of soil, light, sound and living water are released in just the right places to bring victory, revelation, strength, freedom, healing and so much more.
Come and continue to breathe Me in until you have formed an unalterable habit. I promise to quench your deepest desires and calm your deepest fears. And when I come and you realize how much fear or any other destructive behavior you really have, I want you to renounce it, repent and replace it with the truth of My Word. You must do this on purpose and by design regardless of how you feel.
Beloved, don’t validate any lies your negative emotions might try and convince you of. Know the law of seed time and harvest will not fail to produce regardless of what you plant either good or bad (Genesis 8:22). Choose good and in time your persistent nurturing of what I have breathed into you will produce a good harvest.
Do not let the enemy deceive you into believing it does not matter what you plant which equals what you think, say and do (Galatians 6:7). What you plant matters, for the law of sowing and reaping is related to all you do, think and say. Every thought is a seed and produces something either good or bad. Everything visible and invisible are products of seeds of some kind. Even the devil’s own seed thoughts led him to rebellion against Me. His rebellion came first in the form of thought, then words and actions.
Beloved, as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Therefore, it is imperative to be in My Word and to be with Me in times of intimacy where you do nothing but breathe Me in with concentrated focus. For what you sow, that and that only, will you reap (Galatians 6:7). You can best forsake all wrong thinking, saying and doing by renouncing, repenting and replacing all contrary things with the truth. This is called renewing your mind where whole new ways of thinking, talking and acting will become the way you live and breathe. In other words, you will automatically do according to the renewed aspects of your mind and not your old behaviors. Remember, renounce, repent and replace for I have all the soil, light, sound and water you need. Come breathe them all in.
Springs, Living Water And The Thirst Quencher
Beloved, I am the ultimate thirst quencher. I am your thirst quencher. Do you remember how good it felt when you drank a cool refreshing drink after sitting in the heat of the day…how if felt going down at just the right moment when the oppressiveness of the heat threatened to close you in and even in some cases had the tendency to make you feel faint. Your body was crying out for what it needed to have its thirst quenched…what it needed to survive…to live. It is no different in the spiritual realm.
Your physical body, which is more than 60 percent water, needs physical water to live and your spirit man needs living water to live. Though water is the best fluid for your physical body on the natural plane there are many varieties of ways to receive liquid in order not to dehydrate. On a spiritual plane there are many ways to receive nourishment as well by listening to others teach, reading books and so on. However, nothing is better than just being with Me in My Word or in My Presence letting Me breathe new life into the soil of your heart and thoughts. Time with Me is like water to the physical body on a hot, dry and oppressive day. Nothing can truly quench your physical thirst like water and nothing can quench your spiritual thirst like time in My Presence as I breathe My very essence into you in order to transform and invigorate.
Beloved, even water, on the physical plane is a temporary fix and must be continued to make the body work and ward off dehydration. If this is so, then why would one think spiritual drinking or breathing would only have to be done occasionally? Yes, the effects of natural water only last a few moments or hours before a new infilling is needed while the effects of drinking and breathing Me are of an eternal nature….they last forever and ever without end. When you pass from this earth, all you have done and experience in Me will continue. This should be incentive to continue.
Therefore, do not drink of the things of the world or self-medicate with anything like drugs, overeating, shopping. The list goes on. Unlike drugs or self-medicating habits, I am never ending and always sweet. I have no bitter taste always left behind by the things of the world. I have the “oh so” refreshing and sweet thirst quenching factor.
Let My cool refreshing spirit flow over you with each breath I release. I am your shelter and nothing will hurt you when you partake of Me. When you experience Me on a personal level you become stronger and wiser in the things of My Word and heart. I am like a cold glass of water on a hot day or the freshness of the rain when it comes to nourish the earth and all things on it! My blessings…all of them have already been given to you and are waiting for you to acknowledge that fact and receive them. They are waiting in Heaven as a gift already given (Ephesians 1:3). They are ready to be poured out upon you…ready to flow up out of the springs of living waters inside of you (John 7:38). Can you smell them? Can you taste them?
Taste And See That The Lord Is Good
Beloved, I have said much to you in this letter…said much to you about the benefits of being with Me. And once again, I invite you to come and close your eyes with all in mind we have discussed. Remove yourself…distance yourself from all wrong beliefs by renouncing, repenting and replacing. Let the enemy have no place of offense to bring against you. And you know what? Even if he does have one to accuse you of know this– I love you anyway and want you to come to Me and breathe in what you need to overcome. My mercy triumphs over judgment and I do not condemn you ever. The Cross took care of that once and for all. Plain and simple, you are hidden in Me and that settles it.
Once again, close your eyes and come away with Me. Come and experience grace and love poured out. To experience Me is like partaking of the most divine meal you could ever think of. It is like rich chocolate melting in your mouth. It is like setting on the beach at sunset as you let the breezes caress your face. It is like the kiss of a child on your face, all slobbery, wet, and full of innocent love. It is like sweet puppy eyes. It is like depth and volumes of the look you give your spouse across a crowded room, which in an instant can express a lifetime of love. It is like a child flying a kite or holding a balloon all the while giggling with delight. It is like your favorite ice-cream as you endeavor to enjoy every drop before it melts down the side of your cone. It is like running through sprinklers on a hot day. It is like hot chocolate in front of the fireplace on a snowy day.
Beloved, being with Me is like love expressed when a couple who adore one another celebrate their 50th anniversary when words aren’t even necessary to express a lifetime of being friends and lovers. I could go on and on telling you what being with Me is like. I am sure you can think of some examples of your own and please do. Remembering the precious things of your life will soften your heart and make you more open to Me. I know times in your life have been hard but there are always some silver linings if you are willing to look.
Even though I have shared all these comparisons to what being with Me is like, there are no true words to describe what is like to breathe Me in. You must experience it for yourself. Breathe…breathe and inhale deeply. Can you feel Me in your already softened heart? Can you taste Me like chocolate melting in your mouth? Can you see Me leaning into you…pressing into your life and heart? I am all around you and in you.
I know the enemy causes so many negative things to occur in your life and around you; but, you must not let these be your focus. Just agree to breathe deeply. My love, I am right here! Look past those things in the natural that you can only see. There’s so much more that you can’t see! Breathe My most loved child and live…live in a whole new way.
Yes, I am the honey on your lips. I am the cool drink that will refresh you and fulfill your ever desire like no one else could or ever would do. Reach for me! Close your eyes…close them and feel me. Taste and see that I am good. Reach My beloved for you are mine!! Feel the caress of My presence like a soft blanket or velvet against your cheek. It is My love and I am waiting…I am right next to you waiting to give to you.
Your worship is sweetness to My heart and I love to receive it from you. As you worship, let Me whisper into your ear the plans I have for you…the greater things I want to give you. I have plans to prosper you, to give you a greater future than you could ever image! Breathe in and taste of My goodness (My greatness) and the love I have waiting for you…waiting for you to experience before the worlds were even formed!
Beloved, I am here. You haven’t far to look. Just reach out right now and you’ll touch the hem of My garment (Luke 8:44). I can fulfill the impossible. My love for you can and will always conquer the impossible. Do not fret about anything that seems impossible to you for there is no such word in My vocabulary! Rest in Me and I’ll fill you with unimaginable peace and joy. Taste, see and be filled with joy. Breathe and be filled with refreshing peace. Do these things and let Me direct your paths, so I may fulfill your heart’s ever desire! Breathe, taste, and be fulfilled with My glory.
Prayer
Lord, it is my greatest desire to be with You…to inhale Your sweetness…Your presence. Draw me and show me how to utilize the little moments of my life to build intimacy with You. Sometimes I think that if I do not have large chunks of time there is no need, for what could a one little minute matter. A day is a thousand years to you and a thousand years as a day; therefore, a minute can be more than I could ever imagine. One moment in Your presence is better than a thousand other days.
Show me where I can make time. Help me to get up earlier or stay up later just so I can spend that intimate time with you. Please forgive me for letting my day slip by…for letting it slip away among the many hectic things of life. I wake up with good intentions and before I know it the day is gone, never to be recaptured.
I declare this is a new day and I open up all my senses to let the perfume of Your presence surround me…to fill me from the inside out! Come ravish my heart. Come stir the waters of my being until I am consumed and filled by You.
Sometimes You feel so far away; but, I know this is not true. Come stir me for I need to feel Your Presence reminding me You are still here. Thank you for continually wooing me…for drawing the living waters from deep within until I am flooded with a realization of Your beauty and fragrance. Overflow my heart…overflow out of my life into others…into dry and weary places. Please help me to become a pure vessel that you can use. Fill me Lord…ah… please fill me with more and more realization and revelation of Your great Love!
I ask that You show me areas of my heart which prohibit the full expression of Your character. What lies have I believed…what can I do…how can I be obedient to You in order to grow…in order to live a life demonstrative of your character. Stir up the desire in me to love and partake of Your Word more and to know that You have given me answers for my life in Your word…to know Your Presence is my life and strength. May the sweetness of Your Presence overtake my life.
Lord, please remind me at all times that Your ways are higher than mine and that I may not always understand Your way of doing things. Help me to trust in all Your ways for they are the best and only way to truly prosper my life. Give me the peace that passes understanding knowing that You are always present (never-ending)…knowing You are always working even though I become tired and want to rest…to rest in a way that is not productive…resting in a way which leads to laziness or denial. Teach me to rest in You where I will gain strength to fly…to soar.
Lord, I truly thank You for you take care of me in every aspect of my life including all my dreams and desires. Each is important to you. Nothing escapes Your loving glance and care. I must not try to fulfill them myself but as I rest in the Truth…as I stand on the rock, all will be well.
Therefore, remind me to inhale deeply when I’m in Your presence just as I would inhale the beauty of a flower. Let Your smell…Your essence fill the inner most part of my being…let it waft into the crevices of every hidden and what I consider undesirable places until I am transformed into what You already know me to be. In this place of intimate receiving is where Your strength fills and heals me. Thank you for continually transforming me into Your image until I know as I am fully know…until living waters of Your essence flow as living waters on a moment by moment basis from my life. I breathe You in.
Lord, please continue to pour Yourself with abundance in and through my life, for my heart belongs to You and You alone. Jesus, I come and abide under the shadow of Your wings and I bless You with the kisses of my Words of love and adoration. I adore You, my King…my Most Lovely One. You are my heart’s desire and I adore you.
May my heart grow in understanding and revelation until all is made new. Grow me and guide me on the path You’ve set before me. I am so thankful for Your everlasting love which draws me…woo me into intimate times with You. I can’t express the gratitude I have during for the times when Your love refreshes and strengthens me. Your love poured out is water for the dry and weary places. Your love poured causes me to rejoice in all things.
Lord, my time with You fills me with such joy and knowledge. May I always speak Your truth over my life and the lives of others. Show me what to bind in my life that is not of You and to fill it with what Your word says about me. I choose not to live my life according to my feelings because they are deceiving at times and do not line up with the Word.
Help me to be patient and stand firm in speaking Your Word and walking obedience to it out of love and devotion…not out of obligation. Your Word will never cease to produce what You have ordained it to do. Your Word in my heart will not return void. I choose and declare I will not dwell on any thoughts that are not of You or the truth of Your word because in time these ungodly thoughts will become action. Every action and thought are seeds which produce fruit. Holy Spirit, show me any bad seed I have planted which has resulted or will result in bad fruit and wrong beliefs. Forgive me when I don’t wash myself daily with Your Word. Draw me into Your Word daily so that I am continually renewing my mind with Your truth and not the feelings and thoughts of this world.
Lord, I thank You so much for the times You give me peace and refresh my mind and body. Sometimes I’m in such need for Your refreshing spirit when the world around me seems to spin ever faster. I need to be revived in You. The things of this world get so heavy and tiring at times; but, You are the burden bearer. I lay all my cares on you and let Your relief come to the heavy places of my heart and soul.
I know Your Word is the only thing capable of truly renewing my mind and reviving my spirit. No one and nothing in this world can give me the peace You give. Nothing fills me like You.
Lord, teach me to learn from the natural things of life, like feeding and exercising my body, and how it relates to the spiritual. Garbage in and garbage out as the old saying goes. Proper diet and exercise makes the body healthy. A proper diet of Your Word and the exercising of my faith creates a healthy life which fulfills its intended purpose.
Just as my body needs natural sustenance, My spirit also needs to feed itself on the Word and time spent with You in order to grow and have strength. I can’t ever get too much of You. The things of the world can make me physically and spiritually sick; but, You give me life and life abundantly…pressed down, shaken together, and running over.
Therefore, I partake of you with great vigor until the expression of my life is indistinguishable from Your character and nature. In You, I only become stronger and wiser…I move continually upward not down! I am moving upward.
Lord, I can never thank You enough for what You did for me on the cross. You did not come to condemn me but cover me with Your grace and mercy. What a sacrifice You gave for my life so I might be one with You…that I might abide forever in Your Presence.
Your grace is so all sufficient and falls down on me like rain…covers me like honey. Yes, I know where to run because You overcame everything the enemy stands for and everything he tries to do to us. You are my hiding place, my shelter, and the lover of my life! You are the rest and goodness I need. The hem of Your garment fulfills the impossible things of life. I only have to touch You and I am enfolded by you.
I declare that I am one who will continue to dwell in Your presence more and more, for You are so sweet and Your power and love engulfs me. You are all around me! You are in the beauty that You created– a child’s laughter, the sunrise, the sweet smell of a rose, a lover’s kiss, the touch of two hands which have spent a lifetime together and the caress of a cool breeze on a summer day. I could go on and on at all the things, which express Your heart and beauty for they are endless.
When I reflect, my heart is drawn to repent to say I’m so sorry for not taking more time to recognize You are all around me…to recognize You are all I need. Please forgive me when I begin to take You for granted for You are the most important thing in my life! How I want You to become more real to me as my one and only true Love.
Jesus, I yearn for You…I yearn to spend precious time with You where I can taste and see that you are good, where You are more important than anyone in my life on this earth. You alone have given me so much more than what’s humanly possible for anyone to give. Our time is so precious, Lord; therefore, may I always cherish it and try to spend even more of the time You have given me in Your Presence. Please forgive me when life becomes so busy that it seems hard to get to You. You are my everything…the very air I breathe! I am so glad our time is fulfilling to You and to me…that You enjoy it even more than I do. I need more and more of You, I cannot get enough! I come now sweet Jesus, Lover Of My Soul and rest in the beauty of Your essence and love. Amen
Reflect and Journal
Because of the fragrance of your good ointments, Your name is ointment poured forth; Therefore the virgins love you. (Song Of Solomon 1:3 NKJ)
The fig tree puts forth and ripens her green figs, and the vines are in blossom and give forth their fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. (Song Of Solomon 2:13 Amplified)
But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ’s victory] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere, For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which exhales] unto God, [discernible alike] among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing: (2 Corinthians 2:14-15 Amplified)
1. Do you view the small moments…the emergency prayers…the quick I love You Jesus as important and full of power and beauty? Are you waiting somehow to have that “quality” time with Him and it doesn’t seem to happen according to what you think it should be? Do you think the Lord would rather you have moments throughout the days of your life or a here and there quality time? Ponder these questions and re-evaluate your time with Him and determine to see and capture every moment of your life as opportunities to breathe in His essence…His presence.
2. Take a moment right now and close your eyes…remember something that you love to smell and breathe it in. All beautiful smells come from Him and I imagine they smell like Him…like a rose…like rain in the spring. Use your imagination and do this. As a result your heart will be softer and you will be drawn to the Lord. Write down what you sense.
3. Do you have a dry and weary place? If so, concentrate on this place and invite the rains of spring from the Father to come and flood you with life and love.
4. Do you trust that God’s way is better than your own or do you pick up things because they are not done in what you consider the correct amount of time?
5. Are you always trying to understand something before you completely turn it over to God?
6. Do you find yourself playing ping pong with God and continually giving and taking the problem back, especially when His answer seems a long time in coming?
7. Are you willing to let God change your way of thinking and if so, how can you on a practical level based on your life style and personality do this? In other words, what are you willing to lay down in order to have what you so desire, intimacy with Him?
8. Are you ready to let go and trust in God for everything even the things you are scared of or don’t understand?
9. Are you tired and need renewed strength and energy to do what God has given you to do? Do you think He will renew your strength and vigor like He does for everyone else? You are no exception to the rule. It is to whom so ever will.
10. Do you take time to spend with God? Have you done so today? If not, now is the time.
11. How much time do you give Him? You could give Him a lot of time out of obligation or you could give Him all the moments without condemnation. Selah (stop and think or meditate on this).
12. Who do you lean on for strength and guidance? Is it your own wisdom, your friends (which is good in balance) or anything else which does not give preference to God’s Word and character?
13. Do you have anxiety and fear in your life? Have you held onto these and not given them to the Lord or not forgiven those who cause it?
14. It’s a sin to be anxious and fearful, have you asked God for forgiveness?
15. Do you go by your feelings or what God’s Word says?
16. How much time do you spend in His Word?
17. Do you renew your mind before you begin your day or at the end of the day after you’ve filled it with the world? It is good to do it at the end of the day and the beginning…and all in between. Filling your mind with Him at the end of the day gives you sweet sleep and plants seeds that grow while you rest.
18. Do you get tired and weary? God says to come to Him and He will give you rest. Where do you need rest from the weariness or challenges of life? Name them and you will be better able to plan out according to the Word what you need to do.
19. Have you spent some precious time with God today and become refreshed with His presence? Now is the time. What is He saying…impressing on you?
20. Do you spiritually feed yourself daily? How do you do this? How can you best grow in this area in a practical and easy to accomplish way?
21. Do you think that being spiritually fed one to two days a week is enough to keep up your strength spiritually? Per say…on Sunday or Wednesday. Where is God the rest of the week in your life?
22. How much of the world do you take in compared to the things of the Lord…i.e.…TV…books…etc.
23. When you take in too much of the world, do you begin to feel heaviness or weariness and possibly even fear especially in this day and time? Listen to the news enough and what happens to faith?
24. Do you put the Lord first in your life and in your relationships? Do you have any relationship from which you draw from more than God…depend on more to give you what you need…obsess over because it is not what it is supposed to be? It is time to adjust…give it to the Lord and take His yoke which is light and easy.
25. Have you had your fill of earthly things and desire a more fulfilling relationship that will never end or leave you wanting? If so, name the things you have depended on…trusted in…enjoyed more than the Lord and give them to Him…renounce…repent and replace them moment by moment. Don’t try to eat the whole elephant. Little by little…line upon line…precept upon precept…glory to glory until all is as it should be.
26. Do you take time to recognize the hand of God around you in all aspects of life and nature? Take a moment to listen to the birds sing, the smell of flowers, a child laughing, a sunset or sunrise and the colors He has painted all around you! Don’t these things make you feel in awe of God’s greatness? What do you sense when you think or see in such a way? Slow down and take time to be with God. Inhale His fragrance and let it fill every part of you…to heal and strengthen you.
27. Do you have confidence that God has overcome every obstacle in and before you or do you doubt the power of what God’s sacrifice did for you on the cross? Sometime it is easier to believe the Lord does it for others but surely I am different. Not so. Just believe His word is true and no respecter of persons.
28. Do you believe that God has conquered the impossible? What seems impossible in your life? If you could do it yourself then it would not be impossible, nor would you need God. If there were no struggles there would be no need for faith. God is the God of the impossible and nothing is too difficult for Him. Sometimes things seem difficult because we are doing them and not trusting in the goodness, mercy, grace, love and kindness of God. However, this does not mean we will not find things difficult to walk through even though God is working and we are submitting to the process. We have been told there will be trials, tribulations and the testing of our faith. Remember, all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Selah (stop and think or mediate on this).