When asked what her favorite perfume was, the little girl answered, “tester.” Every scent she put on that had the label “tester” smelled good to her. According to Psalm 95, when it comes to which spiritual scent smells best on us, God, our Maker, designates one that pleases Him and one that disgusts Him.
Psalm 95 first establishes the “Maker-ness” of God. Out of the eleven verses, six have reference to the word “make.”
Verses 3-7 a
“For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights and strength of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land. O come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker (in reverent praise and supplication). For He is our God and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.”
In the next couple of verses, I catch a whiff of the spiritual scent that pleases or disgusts God. Verse 7 clearly shows me there should be no hesitation as to the timing of wearing the Maker’s signature scent. The occasion is TODAY.
“Today, if you will hear His voice, and harden not your heart as at Meribah and as at Massah in the day of temptation in the wilderness, when your fathers tried My patience and tested Me, proved Me, and saw My work of judgment. Forty years long was I grieved and disgusted with that generation, and I said, It is a people that do err in their hearts, and they do not approve, acknowledge, or regard My ways.”
My Bible refers to similar verses in Hebrews that add description. These verses clarify further the distinct scent of a person who is pleasing or displeasing to God.
Hebrews 3:10
“…I was provoked and grieved with that generation and said, They always err and are led astray in their hearts, and they have not perceived or recognized My ways and become progressively better and more experimentally and intimately acquainted with them.”
Hebrews 3:12
“Beware brethren, take care lest there be IN any one of you a wicked, unbelieving heart (which refuses to cleave to, trust in, and rely on Him), leading you to turn away and desert or stand aloof from the living God.”
Do you catch the drift? When we wear the Maker’s perfume, we are in a state of listening to His voice, keeping our heart tender toward Him, perceiving and recognizing His ways, and progressing to the point of intimate understanding and experimental reliance on what we learn about Him. The opposite of this state grieves and disgusts Him.
In the Bible, God’s unhappiness with those who did not listen or perceive and hardened their hearts resulted in serious action.
Psalm 95:11
“Wherefore I swore in My wrath that they would not enter My rest (the land of promise).”
What does God’s rest—“entering the land of promise” mean today?
Hebrews 4:8 says “rest” is not referring to the Jews entering into Canaan. In this passage there are also multiple references tying the words “God’s rest” to creation and God’s rest on the seventh day—Sabbath. Also references about “God’s rest” in Hebrews 3 and 4 have the word “today” attached. (There may be several layers of meaning to these words “God’s rest.”) To me, one layer of meaning is that “God’s rest” is a good place I can enter today. “His rest” is nearby if I listen and obey Him, choosing His ways in spite of my wilderness.
I want that rest. I want to exist in that good place near God in spite of my wilderness.
My conclusion? It’s ALWAYS the right time and place to wear God’s signature scent—the one called “Trust and Obey.” The Bible teaches us that Our Maker notices His followers, and those who wear His perfume never go out of style and are refreshed.
My Prayer
“Maker God, TODAY (and always) help me wear the scent that pleases you. Soften the hard areas of my heart and do not let my ears turn deaf to You. Keep Your Spirit near me so that I can always identify what is true and what is falsely seeking to lead me astray. Show me the place of Your rest and how to enter there. Amen”