HOPE FOR THE OIL OF JOY

“To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the OIL of JOY for mourning...” – Isaiah 61:3a

The Word of God gives Believers HOPE for the OIL of JOY: “To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the OIL of JOY for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified” (Isa.61:3). Here, the prophet Isaiah spoke by the Spirit of the Christ, the Anointed One to come. Jesus later quoted part of this scripture in Luke 4:18. In the Old Testament times, oil was used during joyous feasts. It was a symbol of Joy. According to Isaiah, when the Anointed One comes, He would take away every reason why the dwellers of Zion mourned and give them the Oil of Joy!

Sin and Satan brought sorrow to humanity since the fall. However, the Saviour has come. The Spirit of God has been given. Righteousness, Peace and Joy are here! The Saviour came with the Oil of Joy to replace depression and heaviness. The Anointing breaks every yoke and brings Freedom and Joy to God’s people wherever Satan is causing pain and grief. We activate the anointing in our lives by getting connected by Faith in God’s Word. As Believers, there are persecutions we will have to endure because of our faith in Christ. However, there are many other things need not suffer. Every oppression of Satan is illegal! We must grow to maturity in the Spirit and enforce our rights in Christ.

We are authentic recipients of the Oil of Joy, because our Lord and Saviour is anointed with the same, and the anointing flows from the Head to the rest of the Body of Christ: The psalmist prophesied concerning the Messiah: “You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed you with the OIL of GLADNESS more than Your companions” (Psa.45:7). Hebrews 1:9 affirms the same truth. We are not without Hope! We who know Christ’s righteousness are not to live as those who are without hope. We have been blessed with both the Love and the Fear of God. His Will for us even in the darkest, most terrible times is to obtain His Joy and abound in His Gladness.

Even as we see judgment falling on the world around us, like Israel crossing the Red Sea on dry land, we can to sing, shout and rejoice, not because judgment has come but in spite of it: “So the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with EVERLASTING JOY on their heads. They shall obtain JOY and GLANESS; sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isa.51:11). Our trust in the Lord will put us above every pain and trial. Nothing will be able to rob us of our Peace, Joy and Gladness in Christ. Everlasting Joy shall be ours (v.7).

When we seek God’s Kingdom and righteousness first, He puts on us the anointing of the OIL of JOY to which nothing negative can stick. No demonic flies can be attracted to this Oil. Disrespect may come, and people may say hurtful things, but the good news is that we have a nonstick anointing. We were created and anointed to not hold on to offenses, grudges, or spiteful words. As God keeps us oiled up, we’ll stay in peace, rejoicing, and focused on Him and on His purposes for our lives, knowing that the Man of War is fighting our battles!

Isaiah 61: 1-3 summarizes the results of the Anointing: Good News to the poor; healing to the broken-hearted; liberty to the captives; opening of prisons to the bound; comfort and consolation to the mourning; beauty in exchange for ashes; the OIL of JOY for mourning; and the garment of praise to replace the spirit of heaviness. So, I can declare: “In Jesus name, I receive beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. I am a tree of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”