Can't You Smell That Smell?

     Have you ever had a mysterious odor in your home? It has certainly happened to me. Having young children in my home, I usually assume it is just something in the trash can. I often try to ignore it. Have you noticed that an odor that stings your nose, will eventually fade into the background? Even though the smell is still there, you become used to it. You may even forget about it until it hits you in the face again, or until someone else mentions it.
     One way of handling it, is to cover it up. Candles, and cans of air freshener may offer a bit of relief, but eventually you realize that you now have a fruity smelling odor. It is still there, just covered up.
     Oh, how I dread the moment that I give up and decide to dig in, find the source, and clean up the mess. It is almost scary when you find yourself getting closer and closer, the odor growing stronger. You know there
will be unpleasant things to dig into and a mess to clean up.
     God wants to do this with our past hurts and sins. He wants to reveal to us the areas that we have simply gotten used to and grown comfortable with. He wants to remove all of the things that we've used to cover the areas that are contaminated. He wants us to allow him to dig into the pungent mess, and find the source. He knows we're scared, and he knows we don't want to reveal the things that have been left to rot. He also knows that the longer those things sit, the more they will infest our lives and even the lives of others.  God can destroy our mess and replace it with a refreshing aroma! An aroma that is welcoming to others and pleasing to Him. Allow God to search the depths of your life. Allow him to find those areas that let off an unpleasant stench. Allow him to replace it with the pleasing aroma of forgiveness, peace, and and healing.
     I love the following section taken out of Psalms.  You can hear the heartache in David's cries to God.  He has suffered from buried pain, scars and sin for quite a while.  It has affected his health.  It has hurt his relationship with others.  Maybe it is sin he has committed and hidden from others.  Maybe it is sin that others have committed against him.  More than likely, it is both.  Either way, David gets to the point where he is tired of being tortured.  He decides to allow God into those hidden wounds.  As always, God is faithful to be the healing Father that he promises to be.
Psalm 38
4 My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. 5 My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly. 6 I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning. 7 My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body. 8 I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart. 9 All my longings lie open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you. 10 My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes. 11 My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away. 12 Those who want to kill me set their traps, those who would harm me talk of my ruin; all day long they scheme and lie. 13 I am like the deaf, who cannot hear, like the mute, who cannot speak; 14 I have become like one who does not hear, whose mouth can offer no reply. 15 LORD, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God. 16 For I said, “Do not let them gloat or exalt themselves over me when my feet slip.” 17 For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me. 18 I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin. 19 Many have become my enemies without cause, those who hate me without reason are numerous. 20 Those who repay my good with evil lodge accusations against me, though I seek only to do what is good. 21 LORD, do not forsake me; do not be far from me, my God. 22 Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior.
Psalm 39
1 I said, “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth while in the presence of the wicked.” 2 So I remained utterly silent, not even saying anything good. But my anguish increased; 3 my heart grew hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.  5 You have made my days a mere hand breadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.[d] 6 “Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be. 7 “But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you. 8 Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools. 9 I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for you are the one who has done this. 10 Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand. 11 When you rebuke and discipline anyone for their sin, you consume their wealth like a moth—surely everyone is but a breath.  12 “Hear my prayer, LORD, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were. 13 Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again before I depart and am no more.”
Psalm 40
1 I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him.