Anyone who has ever floated a river knows that you will inevitably come to an area that seems very still with almost no movement. How can it be that the same river has areas that are fast-moving and then all of a sudden you come to an area of stagnation? In these areas, you will find dark pools, bad smells, more mosquitoes, and snakes because the water isn’t moving. These are the areas where we hear different sounds, feel different temperatures, and have to work harder to keep moving.
We have gone through intense seasons of movement in the River of God, taking us places, giving up control, letting Him take us away. God gave me a vision of the His river when it was moving so fast that His people had to make a choice if they were going to be all in or all out. I saw people trying to stay in the river and yet tie off to trees or hold on to their swimming tubes. They were getting out of the river because it was no longer allowing anyone to be in control. But there were other people rejoicing in the exhilaration of just letting go and allowing God to take them away.
Now it seems like the river has slowed way down. So in this place of stagnation and human effort, God is releasing a gift of refreshing in His river to ignite more passion in us, His bride. Everything we do as a living sacrifice will carry the pleasing aroma and the passionate intoxication of knowing that “I am my Beloved’s and He is mine!”
The revelation God gave me is that He is opening up new heavenly sources of oil that carry the fragrance of heaven. He is also pouring out new wine, which is intoxicating because of the intense level of His love that He wants us to drink deeply from.
In the former system of a burnt offering, there was what God referred to as a pleasing aroma. A sacrifice that is fully given without reservation has a pleasing aroma or fragrance. The sacrifice of the Lamb of God on the cross had the aroma of a pleasing sacrifice, and He wants His bride to carry the fragrance of His sacrifice.
He wants us to drink deeply of the wine of His love and be intoxicated. Out of this fresh oil and new wine will come a new, fresh anointing of His Bride being able to release the scent of her accompanying sacrifice and her love that is better than wine to her heavenly Bridegroom.