Recently I read something which reminded me that we can receive the Father’s revelation through ALL our senses, physical and spiritual, when we yield them to His Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that, after His return to the Father, revelation from the Father’s heart would come to ALL who believe and receive, not just a select few “professional” priests or prophets. This revelation would be through His glorious Holy Spirit who would be “poured out on all flesh” without exception or force – a free gift to all who ask and receive. That same Spirit has been poured out!!! Now we can receive His revelation in dreams, visions, and a whole host of other ways that involve our many senses.
Sometime after this reminder, I was standing in our boiler cupboard (we keep sheets and towels in there, in case you were wondering why I was in the cupboard!!) As I stood there in the quiet, I asked Holy Spirit to alert my senses to anything He wanted to say to me. I felt drawn to ask Him to alert my spiritual sense of smell to any aroma that carried His revelation today. In the natural, the only aroma in that cupboard is a faint scent of fabric conditioner. I was not asking for aromas in the natural, however – but for spiritual aroma that is perceived spiritually, through my spiritual sense of smell.
I used the physical motion of breathing in but with my focus on aroma coming not from the physical but from the Spirit. After a few times of breathing in, I caught a distinct aroma in the “atmosphere”. It was that of furniture polish! I can promise you that our boiler cupboard has not had the attention of a duster and furniture polish inside it – ever! And I’m certain sure no one else in the house was using furniture polish - or would even know where to find it or how to use it! This was a scent that had no natural connection. I waited and breathed in again and there it was a second time, just as clear and unmistakable. Then it was gone.
I had no time to ask Him who the aroma was for and what He wanted to say through it. Nothing came to mind particularly over the next day or so., either. But several days later, I suddenly remembered that a lady I had not seen for a long time was coming to visit and it struck me that this aroma revelation was for her! I will call her Deborah. I asked Holy Spirit what this aroma means for Deborah and took note of what I felt He showed me.
Deborah and I had a lovely chat in the garden. She is in a season of transition with some real challenges and question marks which we explored together. Before finishing, I asked Deborah how she feels about furniture polish! A little bemused, she said – “Hmm, furniture polish. Well, I love the smell of it!” It turns out that aromas are something that Deborah really notices and prizes. I began to explain to her about the boiler cupboard experience and then unpack what Holy Spirit had given in explanation.
This had to do with the polish being applied, then worked in by the restorer. It needed to “seep” slowly into the grain of the wood in order to nurture and replenish it. Father has Deborah in a time of replenishment, where He is inviting her to let His nourishment and restoration seep down deep into her being, slowly, so that all of her “grain” receives His nurture. The image moved on to once the wood grain had been fully nurtured, the restorer carefully buffs the wood to a beautiful shine. Father will do the same heavenly “buffing”to Deborah at just the right time, and her beautiful shine will bring Him glory.
Deborah smiled, immediately resonating with this image and excitedly explaining that one of her favourite TV programmes is about a team of restorers and repairers who bring much loved personal items back from poor repair to beautiful condition. The NIGHT BEFORE our meeting, Deborah had watched this programme and had been particularly struck by a restorer who was reviving an aged wooden chest. He had described the process of slowly “feeding” the wood with a special oil polish, working it in then letting it absorb until the layers of wood were replete and could not take any more oil. Deborah’s ears had “pricked up” as he said this and felt like God was telling her to take note. The restorer eventually went on to buff the wood carefully until it came to a beautiful sheen.
How amazing that Holy Spirit had nudged Deborah to watch that programme the night before, had specially highlighted the process of the wood restoration to her for her personal attention, had prompted me to ask Him for an aroma some days earlier and released the furniture polish scent, then had given the explanation of Father nurturing and replenishing Deborah before bringing her to a place of radiant “shining” for Him.
Such exquisite joining of the dots! Such perfect timing! Through this simple furniture polish aroma, Deborah received real encouragement and confirmation that Father is still actively working and taking care of her in this difficult season. I was really encouraged too! And I hope you will be encouraged to know that you, too, can receive His divine prompts through your senses, as you yield them to His Holy Spirit, then watch and wait with expectancy.
You never know what powerful, timely yet simple revelation you might be receiving for someone, or even for yourself!
Ps . I had never seen this TV repair programme before Deborah told me about it – I am now an ardent fan!!