In Ephesians 5: 2, Paul describes the crucifixion of Christ as an offering and sacrifice that was a “sweet smelling savour” to God.

If anyone comes into a room wearing perfume, it is immediately picked up by the nostrils. From that point, the nose decides if it is a wonderful, delicious smell or one that is loud, irritating to the eyes, and obnoxious. Either way, the smell of the perfume quickly permeates the room and for a few seconds your thoughts are completely absorbed with it.

God gave to Moses rules the Israelites must follow when they brought the sacrifice for their sin before God. If they did not follow these rules, the sacrifice would not be pleasing to Him and things would not bode well for that person who presented it. God meant business when it came to the Israelites walking in obedience to Him because He had miraculously brought them out of Egypt and fed and cared for them each day for many years.

I Samuel 15: 22

Samuel said, “Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.

Even the smartest person has a very small mind when compared to the All-Powerful God who created the universe and everything in it. No human has the potential to see the “whole scope of things” and how everything will fit together to bring about the plans of God.

He has an awesome and unique plan for your life that will make it a “sweet smelling savour” to God’s nostrils.

God wants your complete obedience  - NOT a religious act, doing the same old same old humdrum stuff, doing things in the same way and knowing it doesn’t work but doing it anyway because you don’t know anything else to do.

He wants you to walk with Him each day and be prepared to do what He says. Believe me, just doing this will make your life ENORMOUSLY more productive in doing things that really count for the Kingdom of God.

He will continually amaze you at the things He is able to accomplish through you if you let Him. After you get a taste of doing things His Way, your old way of doing things won’t seem so appealing any more.

Alexander Graham Bell

We as Christians have the Living God inside us in the form of the Holy Spirit. His job is to give direction and show us the truth about decisions we must make everyday.

Many times we set long-term goals that are based on our own fleshly desires. God can see into the future and knows the outcome of the decisions we have made. Since we are His Child, He desires the best for us just as we desire that for our own children. If we can see that the path they are taking is a bad one, we want to do everything we can to keep them from doing something that might destroy them. From prior experience we know that certain roads lead to heartache and destruction, where a child does not have that capability.

The same is true with you and God. He can see where you will be down-the-road, and because He loves you He wants to do whatever it takes to keep you from being destroyed if you have chosen the wrong path.

God sometimes has to close a door that might look great to you at the moment. When this happens, don’t stand there longing for it to reopen. Do not look at the closed door as the end – rather think that God must have something much better for you in the long run.

Get on your knees, seek the truth, and ask Him what you need to do next. If He tells you to go in a different direction, do not let fear hold you back. Ask God to give you the faith to take whatever steps are needed. When the new door opens, do not hesitate to go through it. You will never be sorry that you chose to walk in obedience to God’s Word for your life. Never let fear keep you from getting His Best.