When you keep God first, He puts on you an anointing of the oil of joy to which nothing can stick. You’re like a nonstick baking pan. Disrespect will come, and people will say hurtful things, but the good news is that you have a nonstick anointing. You can let that go, and it will slide right off you and have no effect. You could be offended when your coworker leaves you out and plays politics, but you have the oil of joy and just let it go. When someone is rude to you, you could give them a piece of your mind, but like that nonstick pan, it slides right off. You go on and enjoy the day.
You weren’t created to hold on to offenses, disrespect, or hurtful words. Keep yourself oiled up. The next time that something happens that could upset you, take a new approach: “Father, thank You that I’ve been anointed with the oil of joy. I’m going to stay in peace and focus on my goals, knowing that You are fighting my battles.”
You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.
Psalm 45:7, NIV
A Prayer for Today
“Father, thank You for anointing me with the oil of joy that is like a protective coating from offenses. Thank You that I can let go of the negative things that come my way and they slide right off. I declare that because You are fighting my battles, I will stay in peace. In Your Name, Amen.”
As a black man, I know firsthand the importance of keeping God first in our lives. When we do so, He anoints us with the oil of joy, a protective coating that keeps negativity from sticking to us. This oil of joy is like a nonstick baking pan. Just as nothing can stick to a nonstick pan, nothing can stick to us when we have the oil of joy.
In life, we all face situations where people say hurtful things, disrespect us, or leave us out. But with the oil of joy, we can let those things go and not allow them to affect us. We can choose to stay in peace and focus on our goals, knowing that God is fighting our battles.
To keep ourselves oiled up, we need to spend time with God in prayer and reading His word. This will help us to stay focused on Him and His promises. We can also choose to surround ourselves with positive influences and stay away from people or situations that may bring negativity into our lives.
When we face difficult situations, we can choose to pray and declare God’s promises over our lives. We can thank Him for anointing us with the oil of joy and ask Him to help us stay in peace.
So let’s choose to keep ourselves oiled up with the oil of joy and not hold on to offenses, disrespect, or hurtful words. Let’s stay focused on God and His promises, knowing that He is fighting our battles. And let’s choose to enjoy each day, no matter what comes our way.
