The Anointing Is Costly: Oil, Crushing, and Obedience

Everyone wants the oil but few want the crushing that produces it.
Anointing doesn’t fall from the sky. It flows through obedience… and pain.

We talk about anointing like it’s a crown.
But before it’s a crown it’s a crushing.

Olive oil, in biblical times, didn’t come from untouched fruit.
It came from olives that had been pressed, broken, crushed under weight.
The process was violent. Slow. Messy.
But the oil? Pure. Fragrant. Sacred.

“He was pierced for our transgressions… and the punishment that brought us peace was on Him.” — Isaiah 53:5

Even Jesus was crushed before He was glorified.

In Gethsemane a garden literally named “oil press” He sweat blood.
He said, “Not My will, but Yours.”
That moment wasn’t glamorous. It was agony.

But it was also the moment where anointing flowed.

We often say, “God, use me!”
But are we willing to be pressed?
To obey when it’s not public?
To carry what no one else sees?
To be passed over, purified, misunderstood and still say yes?

The anointing isn’t about lights, stages, or applause.
It’s about weight. Surrender. Death to self.
It’s saying yes to God in the dark, when no one’s watching.

When Samuel anointed David, the oil flowed but the crown didn’t come for years.

Before the throne came:

Isolation

Running

Betrayal

Rejection

Crushing

Yet David never stopped worshipping.
Because he wasn’t after a title he was after God.

You, too, are being prepared.
That pressure you feel? That heaviness?
It may not be punishment it may be the pressing before the pouring.

Reflection

What areas of your life feel like crushing right now?
Could it be the very place God is producing fresh oil?

Closing Prayer

Father, help me not to run from the crushing, but to embrace it if You’re in it.
Produce in me the oil that only obedience can release.
I surrender my comfort, my timeline, and my pride.
Make me a vessel. Use me for Your glory.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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