"Learn to anoint with oil the hard places in your life as ordained and allowed by God," said the featured speaker at a ladies conference two weeks ago. I have been mulling on it ever since.
Israelite priests in Old Testament times were anointed for service. They were set apart for a special reason. One of their main duties was to offer sacrifices. They were anointed to offer sacrifices. And so are we.
Not only were the priests anointed but also the place was anointed. For the priests that place was the tabernacle. It, too, was set apart as a special meeting place. The place where God would meet with humans. And so it is to be with me. Anoint a meeting place with God. A place to offer sacrifices to God. And this speaker suggests it to be the hard places in my life.
And what kind of sacrifices shall I bring? The sacrifice of praise is one I am to bring as it says in Hebrews 13:15, "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess his name." And it is a sacrifice to offer praise in the midst of difficulty. It is hard to do. It costs something to praise in the midst of trials.
Hebrews goes on to say, "And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. " (Hebrews 13:16). I'm so thankful that doing good and sharing with others are listed as sacrifices because it validates that they are hard to do, especially in the midst of our special anointed places -- those hard places, the trying relationships, the overwhelming circumstances of life.
When I view the events of my life as ordained and allowed by God, then I am encouraged to walk on and to press on. For these hard places become the very special places in my life to meet with God and to offer the sacrifices of praise, doing good, and sharing with others. It is a privilege to be anointed to offer sacrifices.
Note: This blog post comes to you as part of the A to Z Blog Challenge to post every day except Sundays during the month of April. Obviously, I'm behind since it is the 6th of April and it is my first post. But, I began this blog to encourage me to write. This challenge has come when I was desiring to write more. And so I begin. Check out the link HERE to view the original challenge and to see the links to the other bloggers stepping up to this April blog challenge.
Hey Woj! Sheri just told me about your blog. Very nice. I was intrigued because I was just thinking last week that I wanted to work on my writing and should start a blog to work on that discipline. I'll have to give y'all a call soon. Big changes in the King family!
ReplyDeleteHey Steve, Let me know if you do start it. That is why I started this blog. I mentioned that you had commented on my blog to Kip and he mentioned that he has been meaning to give you a call. We need to catch up.
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