Access Abraham’s Anointing: Overcoming Delay to Step into Favor

 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).

I know this sounds old-fashioned, but I believe anything worth doing is worth doing well.

God Himself takes His time developing us. No instant success will do. He wants to put the quality in before the name goes out. A small beginning is just the prelude to a tremendous crescendo at the finale! Many of God’s masterpieces were developed in small, obscure circumstances.

Moses, the “messiah” of the Old Testament sent to the lost sheep of Israel, was trained in leadership while shoveling sheep dung on the backside of the desert. There was no fancy finishing school for this boy. Granted, his discipline was developed in the royal courts of Pharaoh’s house, but his dis- position was shaped through a failure in his life and a desert kingdom with no one for him to lead but flies, gnats, and sheep. Who would have thought, looking at Moses’s church of goat deacons and gnats for choir members, that he later would lead the greatest movement in the history of Old Testament theology?

Who would have guessed that old impotent Abraham, whose sun had gone down and force gone out, would finally father a nation—in fact, a nationality? One moment he is sitting on the edge of the bed with an embarrassed look on his face, and the next moment he is fathering children even after Sarah’s death. You can’t tell what’s in you by looking at you. God is establishing patience, character, and concentration in the school of “nothing seems to be happening.” Take the class and get the course credit; it’s working for your good.

Many misunderstand the prophecies of the Lord and so feel discontentment and despair. Just because God promises to move in your life and anoints you to do a particular function doesn’t mean that your foundation will be immediately built.

Prayer

My prayer today is to realize that You, God, are working and moving in my life daily—even though it may not seem as if You are. I believe that you have anointed my life to reflect Your faithfulness and goodness. My foundation is built on You and You alone. In Your Son’s name, amen.

Declaration

I am God’s child. His anointing carries me through each day with joy!

Growth

The Lord has made everything for his own purposes, even the wicked for a day of disaster (Proverbs 16:4 NLT).

Great growth doesn’t come into your life through mountaintop experiences. Great growth comes through the valleys and low places where you feel limited and vulnerable. The time God is really moving in your life may seem to be the lowest moment you have ever experienced.

Look, I go forward, but He is not there, and backward, but I cannot perceive Him; when He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him; when He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him (Job 23:8-9 NKJV).

God is working on you, your faith, and your character when the blessing is delayed. The blessing is the reward that comes after you learn obedience through the things you suffered while waiting for it! I am not finished with the left hand—nor do I want to be finished. The prerequisite of the mountain is the valley.

If there is no valley, there is no mountain. After you’ve been through this process a few times, you begin to realize that the valley is only a sign that with a few more steps, you’ll be at the mountain again! Thus if the left hand is where He works (and it is), if the left hand is where He teaches us (and it is), then at the end of every class is a promotion. So just hold on!

It is difficult to perceive God’s workings on the left hand. God makes definite moves on the right hand, but when He works on the left, you may think He has forgotten you! If you’ve been living on the left side, you’ve been through a period that didn’t seem to have the slightest stirring. It seemed as if everything you wanted to see God move upon stayed still.

“Has He gone on vacation? Has He forgotten His promise?” you’ve asked. The answer is no! God hasn’t forgotten. You simply need to understand that sometimes He moves openly. I call them right-hand blessings. But sometimes He moves silently, tiptoeing around in the invisible, working in the shadows. You can’t see Him, for He is working on the left side.

Prayer

Dear God, sometimes I am confused and wonder where You are. Yet I know deep down You are always with me. I have the confidence and the peace that passes my understanding. So, when troubles come and I can’t feel Your presence, I will remember that You are working on me behind the scenes—left and right—and You make everything for Your purpose. I trust You and praise You for who You are—the great I AM. In Jesus’s name, amen.

Declaration

I’m growing spiritually because I read God’s Word daily and listen for His teachings.