Genesis 20 records an event where Abraham lies about his wife, that she was his sister, in order to save his own life. God calls him a prophet, but there is nothing prophetic about this; it’s pathetic, maybe, but not prophetic. This is not “anointing” but annoying. In spite of all this, God calls Abraham a prophet, answers his prayers, and performs miracles. He flowed in the anointing of God in spite of his mistakes – because the anointing works based on your identity and not your character. Another thing about Abraham’s life is that he was asked to pray for women who were barren, even though his own wife was barren: The anointing operates on the Promise, not on experience.
1) Joseph was interpreting others’ dreams while his own dream was on pause.
2) Job prayed for his friends when his own life was in shambles.
3) A girl told Naaman how he could be healed by Prophet Elisha when all the while she was a slave.
4) Jesus ministered to others on the Cross while he himself was suffering.
DON’T LET YOUR PAIN BECOME AN EXCUSE TO STOP THE POWER OF GOD
Acts 16:27- 31 – When Paul and Silas were beaten up and jailed, and at midnight, the prison doors opened miraculously, the jailer wanted to kill himself. But in the midst of all the pain and his imprisonment, Paul stopped the Jailer and preached the gospel to him and his family, and they got baptized. Paul does not wait until he is out of jail before he ministers. He didn’t let his pain stop him from serving others.
NOTE 1 – Don’t let your pain become an excuse. Use it as a platform to serve others.
>>Smith Wigglesworth, in his last days, would service midway and urinate blood, passing out kidney stones painfully and then come back and pray for others to be healed. He saw mighty healing miracles in his ministry, including raising the dead. He didn’t let his pain stop his ministry, and therefore, the anointing on his life was profoundly operative.
NOTE 2 – The quickest way to recover from your pain is by serving others.
>>In the months of November and December of 2023, I suffered from severe throat pain. I couldn’t recover after several courses of medication. That year, in the watch-night crossover service, I asked our serving team to pray for my throat, and I decided to preach and minister to our church, and after that night, the throat pain was completely gone. I was healed of it! My healing came when I decided to serve God and His people, even though I was in pain.
Here’s an inspirational quote: Life is like tennis – If you serve well, you will seldom lose.
SEE PEOPLE IN NEED ABOVE YOUR PROBLEM
Mat 14:11-14 – When John the Baptist was beheaded cruelly, Jesus was visibly brokenhearted. He wanted to spend time alone with His Father in prayer, but when people from the vicinity flocked to hear him and receive his ministry, Jesus did not shun them. In the midst of his pain, he was moved with compassion to heal them and minister to them.
In all his sufferings, Jesus saw people in need above his own problems –
- In the Garden, Jesus asked the soldiers to let his disciples go
- When Peter cut off Malchus’ ear, he was so present and compassionate to pick up the ear and put it back and heal him.
- While they nailed him to the Cross, Jesus spoke forgiveness to the very ones who were doing it.
- When Jesus was on the Cross, in the midst of all the excruciating pain and the breathlessness, Jesus instructed John to take care of his mother and also saved the thief on the Cross
NOTE 3 – God will trust you with his power when you choose to see people over your own problems.
Yes, in life you will be tempted to give in to your feelings of pain and self-preservation, and say, “I don’t feel like it, so I’m not going to serve.” Snap out of it! You are not a feeler, you are a believer. Pull yourself up out of your self-pity and start serving the people around you.
“I DON’T HAVE IT IN ME!”
Sometimes you will feel like the call of ministry is unfair; you will feel like a hypocrite when asked to comfort another when you yourself are going through loss and pain, or to pray for healing for another person, all the while carrying sickness in your body, trusting God to heal you. Let me surprise you today – you can give what you don’t have! How? By the Holy Spirit who is with you.
NOTE 4 – You can give what you don’t have because it is the Holy Spirit that supplies through you.
Elisha said, “I want a double portion of the Spirit (anointing) on you. Now, logically speaking, how could Elijah give him a “double” of what he has? Elijah promises him the blessing, and Elisha received it too – By the Spirit of God who had no limits!
PREACH THE GOSPEL, NOT YOUR EXPERIENCE
Finally, you have to learn to raise the level of your faith to the level of the Word of God rather than bringing the Word to the level of your faith. If you see in the Word, do not hesitate to preach it. Just because you haven’t seen it in your life, it doesn’t mean that the anointing is limited. See what the Word promises and realize that the anointing on you operates based on the Promise of God and not your level of experience.
NOTE 5 – Preach the Gospel – not your experience.
>>When William Seymour was used by God in the Azusa Street revival, many people in the audience were being filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking in Tongues. While he watched them flow, he himself hadn’t received the gift of Tongues. He didn’t quit ministering; he kept on preaching, praying, and leading the attendees into the presence of God. Finally, one fine day, God filled him, and he began to speak in tongues, and a revival broke out across the world. Today, William Seymour is rightfully called the Father of modern Pentecostalism.
Today, let us be encouraged by this event in Abraham’s life. He himself hadn’t had a child, yet he didn’t hesitate to pray for others to bear children. God heard his prayer. His anointing was operative in an area where he hadn’t yet experienced it. And what happens when you do that? Just as when Abraham prayed for others to bear children, God fulfilled his promise to Sarah and gave them a Son!
>>In 1981, Dodi Osteen was diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer and given a few weeks to live – 21 days of being admitted to the Hospital – Dodi found about 40 verses of healing and declared them aloud. All day long, “I will live and not die, and I will declare the works of the Lord.” “Mother, how are you doing?”She’d say, “Joel, I’m strong in the Lord and the power of His might.” “With long life, He satisfies me and shows me His salvation.” And then Pastor Joel, her son, says that she would visit the sick and pray for their healing. Guess what? In a few months’ time, she began to get healthier and stronger, and the doctors who checked her said that there was no sign of cancer!! She has been healed for more than 45 years!
Beloved, what you make happen for others God will make happen for you. Serve God and the people around you while you are waiting for God to work miracles in your life. This year, if you want God to cause the anointing to overflow in your life, you must learn to flow in the anointing by serving the people in your life, regardless of whether you have seen what they are believing God for or not. Remember, the anointing operates by God’s promise and not by your experience. God bless you!