Recently God whispered a word that has breathed such life into me, I haven’t been able to keep it to myself. Standing before several situations that felt daunting (discouraging, even), the Father has leaned in and comforted my heart, saying:
“I never give an assignment without also giving the anointing to succeed in it.”
Where God gives an assignment, He gives an anointing. Let that settle in. Whatever unique places God is calling for you to seek and obey Him today, He has already been there and paved the way for you to follow. The practice of anointing goes way back in our history. Kings were anointed as the means of consecration. Priests were anointed with oil to be set apart unto God for special service. And God has anointed you:
“As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.” 1 John 2:27
The word, “anoint” means “to smear or cover completely,” and here, refers to the Holy Spirit’s delight to saturate every pore and fill every empty space with His presence and His power. This matters, because the place God is calling us requires supernatural faith that alone can produce supernatural fruit.
Think about your life right now. What situation is God placing you in or calling you to step out into that feels daunting, discouraging, or overwhelming? Here are 5 anointings awaiting as you step out and follow.
The Anointing of Courageous Obedience: The Grace to STEP OUT
For years, God promised Abraham a son who would give more descendants than the stars in the skies. Imagine the joy of the first day Abraham held Isaac…and the despair when the same God called him to take Isaac up on a mountain and sacrifice him. It is a crazy story, but the Bible says Abraham “believed” God. What did he believe?
Simply put, he believed His God was not like the bloodthirsty war-mongering gods of the ancient near east who made regular practice out of human sacrifice. Though it baffled his mind, Abraham trusted that the God who called him to father Isaac would somehow come through, so he obeyed. You know the story. At precisely the last moment before the unthinkable, God reveals the sacrifice he’d chosen all along, already there in the thicket. God is Good. But Abraham only experienced God’s goodness because he was willing to step out into uncertain places to trust Him. What place is God urging you to obey that feels daunting? Where God gives an assignment, He gives an anointing.
The Anointing of Perseverance: The Grace to KEEP GOING
Noah was called by God to build a massive boat; a call which sounded like nonsense, because it had never rained before. Nonetheless, Noah knew the assignment he heard and set out to complete it without wavering. Scholars believe the construction of the ark took somewhere between 50 and 75 years, a lifetime of obedience. Can you imagine the jeers and sarcasm he must’ve endured by those around him? What’s more, Noah would have no way of emotionally knowing he’d been faithful until it finally started to rain.
In our age of instant gratification, we need to lay hold of patient faith that will trust God enough to keep going, though there isn’t yet fruit on the vine. Where is God calling you to stay the course and not give up? Where God gives an assignment, He gives an anointing.
The Anointing of Peace: The Grace of Surrendered SERENITY
Esther found herself in a literal rags-to-riches story as she, an ordinary Jewish youth, was cast into the spotlight as the Queen of Persia. From this place, she learned of a plot to destroy her people, at the hand of the ruler who sat at the right hand of her husband. But it was a man’s world. The former queen had been deposed for simply not attending a banquet. One could be executed for entering the king’s presence unannounced. Esther’s assignment would be far more demanding. She, as a newlywed with no royal pedigree, would have to convince the king that he had been duped by his closest confidant.
As she wrestled, her cousin Mordecai challenged her to remember that God had brought her to the throne precisely “for such a time as this.” And Esther laid down her anxious wrestling, receiving God’s peace, come what may, stating, “And if I perish, I perish.” Only, she wouldn’t. Her obedience would save a nation. Where does the place God has called you feel too big or the stakes feel too high? Friend, He called YOU here, “for such a time as this.” And where God gives an assignment, He gives an anointing.
The Anointing of Wonder: The Grace to DELIGHT in What’s Not Yet Done as though it is
Mary was another ordinary Jewish teenage girl when an angel appeared and spoke impossible things. She, a virgin, was pregnant with the Promised Messiah. The price for an unwed girl becoming pregnant landed somewhere between certain disgrace and possible death. It meant losing Joseph and failing her entire family line. Not to mention, virgins can’t have babies.
Yet, “Mary treasured and pondered these things in her heart,” calling only for it to be done as the Lord promised. And after this, long before there was any evidence that everything would work out, Mary lifted a song of worship to her God and her King. Where is God is calling you to delight as though His promise is already done? Where God gives an assignment, He gives an anointing.
The Anointing of Uniqueness: the Grace to be UNAPOLOGETICALLY YOU!
Finally, we come to David. The youngest of eight, he had been hand-picked by God and anointed by Samuel in a hush-hush ceremony to be the next King of Israel. Just one problem: they still had a king. So, David just kept being faithful as a servant, and it landed him squarely at the center of Israel’s biggest battle. As he saw no one willing to face the Philistine giant, Goliath, David trusted God. Do you remember what happened? King Saul tried to clothe David in his own armor, but it swallowed the young boy, who opted instead for street clothes, 5 smooth stones, and a sling. And the rest is history.
Perhaps you’re in the midst of circumstances that you feel entirely unqualified for. Maybe you feel too inexperienced or too ordinary. Can I just encourage you that God called YOU because there is a unique glory YOU bring to Him, and it’s time you become content wearing your own clothes? The world doesn’t need you to try to obey God looking like whoever you look up to. It is crying out for you to come as “fully you, fully His.”
Which anointing do you need to pull down from heaven to earth by faith for the assignment laid before you today? Where God gives you an assignment, you can be most assured...He has already given you the anointing!