Have You Stopped And Smelled The Roses Today?

“We can be tired, weary and emotionally distraught, but after spending time alone with God, we find that He injects into our bodies energy, power and strength. ~ Charles Stanley”

I live a life that’s not normal. It wasn’t always like this, but most of my days now are quiet.

In this day and age, living a quiet life is not the norm. Almost everyone is busy, very busy.

Rush rush rush, go go go, is the way of life. All of this hurrying, however, has caused many to live a life on autopilot, going from one thing to the next, all the while letting their priorities fall out of place.

Very few are even aware of how their hectic lifestyle is robbing them of the abundant life Christ died for them to live.

The busyness in your life may actually be a distraction that the enemy uses to keep you from focusing on the most important thing in life~ your relationships.

The truth is, nothing matters more to God than our relationships, our relationship with Him and with others. Jesus said in Mark 12:30-31, “And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  No other commandment is greater than these.”

Wait, did you catch that? This verse says, “No other commandment is greater than these.” That’s a pretty powerful statement. Take a minute, if you have a minute, to meditate on this.

God is a God of order. He has made it very clear what we need to do to follow His plan of living a life of peace and joy. God’s order is simple~ love Him and love others.

However, you cannot love Jesus unless you know Him. And you won’t know Him unless you spend quality time with Him. Your relationship with Christ is much like any other relationship in your life. It takes time spent together to build intimacy.

The same is true for all the people God has placed in your life. You will never be able to love them fully unless you first love Jesus (1 John 4:8). You must be intentional about making your relationships with others a priority by pouring your love into them.

Here are some examples of how to nurture the relationships in your life: Schedule your mornings so that you can see your child off to school. Turn off your television and communicate with your spouse and children. Leave your office at a decent hour every day and don’t bring work home. Celebrate birthdays together. Go to special events that your loved ones are involved with.

Always be aware, however, that the enemy of your soul will do everything he can to distract you from living God’s way.

Busyness is a tool Satan uses to steal, kill and destroy God’s plans for your life.

It is critical that you be intentional about not letting even good things (your job, activities, volunteer work,etc.) get in the way of the best thing- Jesus.

I see Jesus as a fragrant rose, one that we have to learn to daily stop and “smell.” His presence is the sweetest aroma you will ever experience.

Make time to water this precious rose, and grow your relationship with Jesus. Through Him the rest of your life, including all of your relationships, will be affected.

When you spend quality time in the Word and are filled with the fullness of Christ, everything else in your life will fall into place, and you will be able to “smell the other roses” He has blessed you with. This means, you will be able to enjoy every blessing in your life, especially the blessing of family and friends.

Your family and friends are a gift from God. They are amongst the aromatic “roses” in Jesus’s bouquet for your life. Like roses, they are fragile and need tender loving care. Make sure these relationships are never neglected and that you purposefully care for them.

Nourishing your relationship with Jesus and with your loved ones is what it means to stop and smell the roses.

Take the time to cherish the beautiful life you have been given. Never take it for granted. Everything you have, and especially your relationships, is a gift from God (James 1:17).

To stop and smell the roses is an act of worship. It’s a way of saying to the Lord that you are grateful for all that He has given you in this life. It’s paying attention to the blessings God has poured into your life.

Appreciate each individual that God has carefully placed in your unique bouquet of fragrant roses.

It’s time to slow down on the amount of “stuff” that’s getting in your way of worshipping your Lord. It’s time to stop making everything else more important than spending time with Him and with your loved ones. It’s time to prioritize and respect God’s order.

It’s time to stop and smell the roses, and to start living a rich and satisfying life by first nurturing your love for the One who created it all.

Please leave me a comment below on what gets in your way of “smelling the roses” and spending quality time daily with Jesus and your loved ones?

“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens…”~ James 1:17

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