UNPROTECTED!

Recently I left my house in a hurry to get to an all day meeting that I was leading. In the late afternoon I hurried home to try to get some things done before leaving the house again to attend an event with my daughter. As I arrived at the event that evening I began to greet others and exchange hugs with friends. As I went to hug a friend I hadn’t seen in a while I realized very quickly (and to my dread) that I had left the house that morning unprotected! In a moment the rush of the morning came back to me…I forgot to put on deodorant! “Yuk”, you are thinking. I know, I know. I was horrified as I wondered how many people had noticed that day that I was unprotected, before I noticed that evening. Embarrassing, huh?!

As I reflected on that incident the next morning, the Lord reminded me that this is how my life is when I begin my day without spending time in His Word and in prayer. I am spiritually unprotected for the day and that can stink too! It can stink for the people that I encounter that day, it can stink for my family, and it can stink for my friends. However, most of all it can stink for me. I am the one missing the blessing of interacting with my precious Heavenly Father and discovering the things He wants to teach me that day and the way He wants to live through me that day. I have learned the hard way that when I fail to make Him the priority of my day then my days are very different. I need His wisdom, guidance, and peace to get through my day in a Christ-like manner. I shouldn’t start my day without yielding myself to His rule and reign in my life.

So, learn a lesson from me and my day of unknowingly spreading ‘perfume’ to all those around me. Don’t miss waking in the morning and spiritually protecting yourself by spending time with your Lord. David expressed His gratitude for God’s protection and love in Psalm 59:16, 17 when he said, “But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.” When we do this, we will be the fragrant aroma of Christ that we are meant to be (2 Corinthians 2:14).

In His Love,
Lori