Faith That Makes a Decision

“You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy” (Heb. 1:9).

As a believer, the worst thing you can do is not be who you are supposed to be to the world. Jesus is our best model of someone who knew who He was meant to be.

Now, I don’t mean the bland, boring Jesus that you’ve seen in the movies. They make Him out to be very somber and very blah! The real Jesus loved righteousness and hated wickedness. The real Jesus was anointed with the oil of joy.

This anointing is available for you and for me—and it is who we are supposed to be. Jesus had a spiritual force that sustained Him, and joy is the spiritual force we need to live a life of faith.

For the joy set before Him, Jesus endured it all. The persecution, the cross—joy carried Him through the pain and suffering.

A life of faith is not always a bed of roses. Tough times might come. Challenges may test you. You must decide now to love righteousness, hate wickedness and be anointed with joy.

Think of Jesus: Every time He drove a demon out—joy! Every time He set a captive free—joy! It wasn’t always easy, but He knew He was doing the Father’s will, and He had joy to carry Him along.

This joy is not a girlfriend giggly kind of thing; that’s not the kind of joy my Savior lived. It’s deeper than that. It’s stronger than that. This is the kind of joy that could carry you into the Garden of Gethsemane sweating drops of blood.

This is so much joy dripping all over you that you could proclaim the will of God into the earth today and know God’s going to back you up with a demonstration that brings people out of their prison, takes blinders off their eyes and heals their broken bodies.

Some of you can’t endure anything. You fall apart if you get a flat tire. I’m telling you, if you’re going to live a life of faith, you’ve got to decide now to receive the anointing of joy. Grab hold of this special anointing, and let it become who you are this year!

A prayer of faith: God, I decide right now who I’m going to be to the world! I love righteousness and hate wickedness. I receive the anointing of joy—and I ask you to change my heart, change my mind and change my behavior patterns to respond to every situation with faith and joy. In Jesus name, amen!

©2012 SGM Publishing. Kathy Gray is co-pastor of World Revival Church in Kansas City. Gray is an author and dynamic speaker who has served in the ministry for over 30 years.