OIL OF JOY AND GLADNESS

“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…” – Isaiah 61:3

There is an Anointing of Joy and Gladness which Scriptures refer to as “the OIL of JOY” or “the OIL of GLADNESS.” This Oil of Joy is the privilege of Citizens of Zion: “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). It is also called the “Oil of Gladness” – that Oil that distinguished Christ in His Position of Distinction: “You love righteousness, and hate wickedness: therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the OIL Of GLADNESS above Your fellows” (Psa.45:7). These same words are repeated in the New Testament, for emphasis: “You have righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even Your God, has anointed You with the OIL of GLADNESS above Your fellows” (Heb.1:9).

Apart from OIL being the spiritual symbol and medium of the Anointing, the Scriptures describe JOY as OIL to convey a further truth. Just as in the natural, Oil is a lubricant; in the spiritual the JOY of the LORD is the Lubricant for Life – the engine oil of the human spirit. In the absence of this lubricant, life will be full of friction. When oil has drained from an engine, it loses efficiency and ceases to function optimally. When the lubricant leaks or dries up, friction follows, and damages occur. God cares about our wholesome functioning – spirit, soul, and body – hence the Messiah’s Ministry is targeted at preaching “good tidings to the poor”; healing “the broken-hearted”; proclaiming “liberty to the captives”; releasing “those who are bound”; and comforting and consoling “all who mourn” – giving them “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isa.61:1-3).  

The level of JOY – just like the level of oil – can be gauged. Just like you’ll check the level of your automobile’s engine oil regularly, you need to give attention to the state of joy in your heart: “keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Pro.4:23). Beloved, do you have the idea of the measure of oil in your heart? You must engage in regular spiritual stock-taking or check-up. Is the gauge reading empty, low, leaking, quarter-full, half-full or full? Satan is the crafty and cunning “leaker” of oil: you must not “give place to the devil” (Eph.4:27). Never let the enemy – through sin, worldliness or “busy-ness” – steal or leak your joy. God does not desire that you move through life’s journey with oil that is almost on empty or partially filled. He desires that you be filled to capacity with the Oil of Joy and Gladness. It’s time to block every oil leakage. It’s time to present your vessel for a re-filling.

Bringing your life’s vessel for fresh infilling of the Oil of Joy and Gladness would result in your establishment in righteousness, the Glory of God, the rebuilding of old ruins, the restoration of former desolations, and the repairing of ruined cities (vv.3-4). By this fresh Anointing, our callings and ministries shall be revisited and renewed: “But you shall be named the Priests of the LORD, men shall call you the Servants of our God”; our prosperity shall be restored: “you shall eat the riches of the Gentiles”; double honour shall replace shame, and rejoicing shall replace confusion in our lives; and above all “everlasting joy shall be” our portion (vv.6-7).

Beloved, you have a choice on the status of the Oil of Joy and Gladness in your heart. Choose for God’s Oil to be perpetually full in your life (Jh.16:24). This Oil is peculiar to Zion! If you are a born-again child of God, you are a Citizen of Zion! And the Oil of Joy and Gladness is your birth right and benefit! So, key-in and begin to partake of and manifest the Fullness of Joy and Gladness!