19/08/2026
Take time to read this. It's so worth reading. You'll be blessed as a child of God
I WAS A MUSLIM before I got born again. When I became born again and became a Christian, I thought Christianity and the anointing was a place of enjoyment.
I thought after encountering Jesus, everything would become easier.
I was wrong.
Not long after my conversion, the Holy Spirit began leading me into the wilderness,,,,,, literally.
Forests. Mountains. Bushes. Caves.
40 days of prayer. 21 days. 20 days. 12 days. Several times.
I met snakes around caves. I experienced hunger. Rains beat me in the bush. There were nights nobody knew what I was going through.
But in those wilderness seasons, I began having encounters with God.
So I thought, "Ah! Now that I have encountered God and received the anointing, surely people will accept me."
I came down from those encounters and tried explaining what God was doing with me to some men of God.
I WAS REJECTED.
Again and again.
And I couldn't understand it.
"Lord, I thought the anointing would make people celebrate me?"
That was when the Holy Ghost began opening my eyes to something I didn't understand:
THE ANOINTING IS NOT A CALL TO COMFORT. IT IS A CALL THAT OFTEN COMES WITH AFFLICTION.
Then I began studying the people God anointed in Scripture.
Joseph had a dream....and entered a pit.
David received oil.....and became a fugitive.
Moses encountered God.....and inherited the burden of an entire nation.
Elijah called down fire.....and later became so overwhelmed that he wanted to die.
Paul encountered Jesus......and entered a life of persecution, prisons, beatings and shipwrecks.
Then I studied Jesus.
This one shocked me.
Matthew 3 ends with the heavens opening, the Spirit descending upon Jesus, and the Father declaring:
"This is my beloved Son..." — Matthew 3:17
But Matthew 4 begins:
"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness..." — Matthew 4:1
Think about that.
THE SAME SPIRIT THAT DESCENDED UPON HIM AT JORDAN LED HIM INTO THE WILDERNESS.
Sometimes after an encounter, you expect a platform, but God gives you a wilderness.
You expect applause; you meet rejection.
You expect connections; you meet isolation.
You expect your anointing to make life easier; instead, your assignment becomes heavier.
People admire the cars of anointed men.
They admire their crowds.
Their houses.
Their families.
Their influence.
But there are afflictions you will never see on Facebook.
People see the oil, but they don't see the crushing.
They see the crowd, but not the loneliness.
They see the glory, but not the story.
They see the results, but not the nights the man almost gave up.
This generation wants the oil without understanding the price of carrying it.
One thing about Moses always touches me.
When Israel sinned and God wanted to destroy them, Moses stood before God and interceded for them.
But when Moses himself failed, the people he had carried couldn't carry him in the same way.
Sometimes you carry everybody, but nobody knows how to carry you.
You pray for everybody.
You encourage everybody.
You strengthen everybody.
But when you enter your room and close the door, only God knows what the person carrying everybody is carrying.
So young prophet, pastor, minister or believer reading this:
Maybe you are going through something right now and asking,
"Did God really call me?"
Don't interpret every wilderness as evidence that God has abandoned you.
David's cave did not cancel Samuel's oil.
Joseph's prison did not cancel his dream.
Moses' wilderness did not cancel the burning bush.
Jesus' wilderness did not cancel the voice that said, "This is My beloved Son."
And your present affliction does not automatically cancel your calling.
"Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all."
— Psalm 34:19
Don't throw away your oil because of your pain.
Don't abandon your calling because of rejection.
Don't mistake crushing for abandonment.
Sometimes the oil on your head and the wilderness around your life can exist at the same time.
Anointed......yet afflicted.
Called.......yet rejected.
Chosen......yet misunderstood.
Carrying fire......yet walking through a wilderness.
Don't give up.
Ministry is not ultimately about Bugattis, Lamborghinis, mansions, crowds or sitting at the tables of kings. If God gives you these things, thank Him.
But purpose is bigger than privilege.
At the end of everything, the greatest testimony is not:
"I became famous."
It is:
"I FINISHED MY ASSIGNMENT."
Stay with God.
Stay with your calling.
Finish your race.
THE ANOINTING MAY COME WITH AFFLICTION, BUT AFFLICTION DOES NOT HAVE THE FINAL WORD.
Blessings.
Share this with a young minister who is about to give up.
