The Smell of Something Better Coming

The other day, I was out back grilling. Nothing fancy. Just a simple cookout. But if you’ve ever grilled before, you know something happens before the food ever hits your plate. It starts with the smell.

That first hint of smoke. Then the meat hits the grill… and suddenly the air changes.
You can’t always see what’s happening under the lid—but you know something good is coming.

And before long, people start drifting closer. Not because the food is ready… But because they can smell it. Because they’re anticipating it.

And thinking about it… standing there by the grill, it hit me: That’s how we’re supposed to live when it comes to heaven.

Nobody stands around a grill saying, “Well, I guess I’ll eat if something happens.” No—there’s expectation. You’re checking on it. Looking forward to it. Thinking about it before it’s even done. There’s a sense that something good is on the way. But sometimes, when it comes to heaven…we don’t live like that. We say we believe in it. We know what the Bible says. But we don’t anticipate it.

Philippians 3:20 (NKJV) says,
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Did you catch that? Eagerly wait. Not casually. Not occasionally. But eagerly.

When you’re grilling, the smell doesn’t stay contained. It drifts. It reaches people who weren’t even planning on eating. It gets their attention. In the same way, when a believer is truly living with heaven in view…it changes the atmosphere around them. There’s something different. Not perfect. Not strange. But noticeable.

Colossians 3:2 says,
“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”

When your mind is set on heaven… your life starts to carry the “scent” of it. Your priorities shift. Your reactions change. Your hope becomes visible. People may not be able to explain it…but they can sense it.

Here’s the thing about grilling: You don’t stand there with the lid open the whole time. You close it.
You wait. You trust the process. You don’t see everything happening…but you know something is happening. That’s where we live right now as believers. We haven’t seen heaven yet. We haven’t experienced it fully. But we’ve been given enough to know—it’s real.

1 Corinthians 2:9 (NKJV) says,
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

We can’t fully picture it. But we can anticipate it.

Every now and then, someone fills up on snacks before the food is ready. By the time the meal comes… they’re not as excited anymore. And if I’m being honest… that’s what the world does to us. It fills us up with things that were never meant to satisfy us. Comfort. Entertainment. Success. Stuff. None of those things are wrong in themselves. But if we’re not careful…they dull our appetite for what’s coming.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:21,
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

If everything we treasure is here…we won’t long for what’s ahead.

No one quits grilling halfway through and says, “This is taking too long—I’m done.” Why? Because you know it’s going to be worth it. That’s the perspective we need.

Romans 8:18 (NKJV) says,
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

Whatever you’re walking through…whatever feels long, hard, or uncertain…It’s not the final meal. Something better is coming.

Standing by that grill, smelling what was coming before I ever tasted it…I realized something: Anticipation changes how you wait. It makes you patient. It makes you hopeful. It makes you stay close. And that’s how we’re meant to live as believers.

Not just knowing about heaven—but anticipating it. Looking forward to it. Living in light of it. Because one day…what we’ve only caught glimpses of…what we’ve only “smelled” from a distance…will be set before us in full. And it will be better than anything we imagined.

Rooted in Grace

Pastor David
gracepastordavid@gmail.com

Walk in Him—rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith.
— Colossians 2:6–7 (NKJV)

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