“Everybody wants the anointing. Not everybody wants the crushing.”
Many admire the anointing they see on someone else’s life, the fruit, the favor, the influence. But what they don’t see is the crushing that came before the oil.
Oil doesn’t flow without pressing. Anointing doesn’t rise without surrender. Purpose doesn’t grow without pain.
David had the harp, but he also had the wilderness. Paul had a revelation, but he also had shipwrecks and scars.
God doesn’t anoint you without first refining you. The pressing seasons aren’t punishment. They are preparation. The anointing is beautiful, but the process is breaking. It crushes pride, reveals motives, deepens trust, and births surrender.
If God is pressing you, He’s not trying to destroy you. He’s producing oil.
Isaiah 61:3 reminds us He gives "beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness."
What comes after the crushing is not bitterness, but boldness. Not despair, but anointing.
Let the crushing have its work. Let the pressing refine you. There’s oil on the other side.
Reflection Questions:
- What area of your life feels like it’s under pressure right now?
- Could that pressure be preparation?
- How might God be producing something deeper in you through this season?
Prayer:
Lord, I won’t despise the pressing. Teach me to trust the process, to surrender in the stretching, and to look for the oil You are producing in me. Shape me, refine me, and anoint me for Your glory. In Jesus' name, Amen.
