Faith Aroma: A Mingling of Dreams and Meditations

Faith Aroma

A Mingling of Dreams and Meditations

Alisa Hope Wagner

Marked Writers Publishing

Introduction

In the Star Wars movie, Rogue One, the Guardians of the Whills are introduced. This faction of people reveres The Force; though, they don’t seem to have as much power as the normal Jedi do. One character in particular, Chirrut Imwe, is a blind guardian who knows the power of The Force, and he builds his faith in The Force by repeating words of belief. He repeats the following sentence many times throughout the film, especially when he is in need of The Force’s provision: “I Am One with the Force and the Force is With Me.”

Chirrut is not around any Jedi because they have almost all been erased from history by the Empire. However, he must have heard stories about their greatness that have been passed down through time. Since he cannot glean help from a physical Jedi, he must produce the powers of the Jedi within Himself by faith. He has to create an atmosphere of faith on his own with the words he thinks and speaks based on the stories about the Jedi he has heard.

This devotional booklet is an effort to share faith-filled stories, so you too can create an atmosphere of faith by meditating on words of belief. Then, after each devotional, you will have a chance to write down your words of belief, adding your own scent of faith to the mingling dreams and meditations presented here. Together, we can grab hold of “The Force,” aka the power of God by meditating and speaking His promises.

“…This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves” (2 Corinthians 4.7b NLT).

Hearty Provision

Two nights in a row just before the new year, I woke up with the thick smell of cooked meat filling my room. It was all around me and so strong that it was impossible to ignore. It didn't smell bad at all, but the last thing I wanted to think about was eating a buffet of tantalizing meats at 3 o’clock in the morning. I smothered my face in my pillows, and they literally smelled like they had been dipped in a large vat of boiling beef bouillon.

Half asleep, I tried to wake up my husband. "Do you smell the cooked meat?"

"What?" he mumbled.

"Cooked meat!" I said louder. "It's everywhere!"

Blurry eyed, he sniffed and went back to sleep. He was used to me waking him up with some sort of epiphany. But smokey flavored meat? This was completely weird!

I woke up the next morning with all my pillows on the ground. I must have tried to get rid of the smell during the night. I smothered my face in each pillow like I had done during the night, half expecting to find a lost turkey leg or lamb shank. There was nothing—not even a scent of meat. I wash my sheets weekly, and they smelled of my essential oil laundry detergent—sweet and fresh, not smokey and savory.

God was trying to tell me something, but I had no idea what.

The following night in the wee hours of the morning, the overwhelming smell of cooked meat came back. It was so strong that I expected a brisket to be right in front of my face. I woke up my husband. Again he was completely asleep.

"I smell cooked me again!" I exclaimed.

He woke up and sniffed the air and went back to sleep. He knew I was experiencing something and trusted God would show me eventually. God always does.

The next morning, I sniffed my pillows again and nothing.

I usually do my Bible reading and prayer in the morning, but this particular morning, I wanted to get all of the Christmas decorations packed up before New Year's Eve the following day.

My family and I got everything put away and then we met my husband's sister and her family for lunch. My sister-in-law could tell my mind was occupied.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"God is trying to show me something, but I didn't do my quiet time this morning. I need to ask Him some questions," I answered. I could feel the weight of God's presence willing me to sit with Him and seek clarity.

When I got home, I had about 30 minutes to figure out what was going on. I'm reading the Bible through again (from Genesis to Revelation), so I asked God if I should just continue where I left off (I had finished Exodus the day before) or did God want to bring me somewhere else in His Word? He told me to continue with my daily reading.

I was starting Leviticus. And to my surprise, cooked meat was on the menu!

“The Lord called to Moses from the Tabernacle and said to him, ‘Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you present an animal as an offering to the Lord, you may take it from your herd of cattle or your flock of sheep and goats’” (Leviticus 1.1-2 NLT).

If you read all of chapter 1 of Leviticus, you are inundated with the pleasing aroma of meat. The sacrifice was to be cut into four pieces (head, fat, organs and legs) and placed on the fire as an offering to God as His "special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord" (Leviticus 1.13 NLT).

And God gave me the word of Hearty Provision for all His People. Here is what He told me.

The offering of the animal represents our time, investment, energy and work that we have given Him. Not just a side portion of time or a measly investment of resources or a bit of our energy—it is our best offering of excellence to Him (our best and unblemished sacrifice).

We give God our everything—our mind (the head), our resources (the fat), our emotions (the organs) and our walk (the legs). And we lay it all at the altar for Him.

He not only sees what we have done for Him, but it is also a pleasing aroma to Him. It is pleasing not because our excellence would even measure up to His perfection. It is pleasing because all that we offer Him has been dipped in the redemptive and perfecting Blood of Jesus Christ. We gave Him our very best (which could never be good enough), but through Jesus Christ, our efforts are greatly pleasing to God.

And God is so pleased by our actions motivated by faith. We receive nothing from the world for our efforts, but we did it because He is faithful to fulfill every single promise that He has given us, and we believe God’s Word because He is faithful.

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10.23 NIV).

When I say that the future holds Hearty Provision, I don't simply mean anyone can believe and receive without actions done by faith. God can and will provide, but Hearty Provision comes to those who have laid their very best at God's altar. They have believed, worked and given God every ounce of themselves to their promises by faith, and He responds to their obedience and sacrifice.

God sees your work. He smells your sacrifice. And He is pleased by your faith. He will provide all that He has promised you. You have fought the good fight (1 Timothy 6.12). You have battled against all odds. You are weary, yet strong. You have been wounded, yet have overcome. God will provide for you in accordance with what you have laid at His altar. His perfection for your best.

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6.38 NIV).

You will sit at the table of God's provision and feast. Your life will be surrounded by the savory aroma of your faith-motivated efforts. God will lay a feast out in front of you before your enemies who didn’t believe in the faith steps you took. You simply have to abide in God’s love and wait at His table.

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” (Psalm 23.5 NIV).

Mingling Meditation

“These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world” (1 Peter 1.7 NLT)

REPEAT:

I will feast at God’s table of provision.

MEDITATE:

Has God allowed your faith to be tested by the fires of persecution? Write a short meditation on the next page about the incident and describe what you learned and how you overcame.