Recently, as I was in the place of prayer, the Lord spoke to me and said, “The hard press is coming.” As soon as I heard this I was reminded of the way anointing oil is produced in an olive press. There are many different kinds of olive presses that produce oil but what they all have in common is that the olive has to be pressed down, and put under immense pressure so that the oil can be drawn out of the olive.
I believe this is what the Lord is doing in this season. There is a hard press coming that many will experience that may feel difficult or even painful but the point of the pressing is to produce the oil, the anointing of God in your life.
This is a strong word. I know many people shy away from words like this but I know that the Lord spoke to me about this hard press so that we, as believers, could be prepared for the future. Some crack or quit under pressure but the true Kingdom-minded sons and daughters of God can endure the pressing.
You must remember in seasons of testing, difficulty, and pressing like the one we are about to see, they are meant to draw you closer to God, strengthen you, and make you more like the person God has called you to be. It’s in the difficult seasons and circumstances that we grow the most, in our character but also spiritually and in our intimate relationships with God.
In John 16:33 Jesus says, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”I believe the Lord wants to prepare and warn His people about the pressing season that is coming because He wants us to have peace. Jesus says right here in this scripture that in the world we will have tribulation. Pressing seasons are used by the Lord to grow and strengthen us and the anointing we are meant to carry. However, that doesn’t mean that all of the tribulations or trials we face are to rob us of our peace.
We can have peace no matter what we face because Jesus has overcome the world and through Him, we can too. Even in the pressing, we can be assured we will be okay because if our life is found in God, if we abide in the Vine, then we have everything we need. In the last 10 years, there have been times and seasons in the world and in our nation where many people experienced devastating financial situations and were at the mercy of the fluctuations of the world’s systems. But I prospered. I prospered more in what many described as hard times.
When you stay close to God you will always make it through a hard press. When you are obedient to the Lord then you aren’t subject to the rise and fall of what goes on in the natural. You know when the children of Israel were still enslaved to Egypt the Lord sent the 10 plagues but His people were safe and sound in Goshen. If you put all of your hope and trust in the Lord you won’t experience the chaos and calamity that the rest of the world does because you belong to God!
1 Peter 5:6-7 says, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” As a child of God, you do not have to carry the weight and load of fear, doubt, and anxiety. The Bible clearly says more than once to not be anxious about anything. I really believe that we have the freedom to choose whether we are going to be anxious about the future or if we are going to let our faith arise, be hopeful, and have peace about what’s to come.
My friends, don’t worry about the hard press, God’s got you. James 1:3-4 says, “Because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” In the midst of your trials, your faith will be the end result. Trials will produce the kind of perseverance in you that will make you one who can withstand any trial or tribulation. So we can be sure that when we stay steadfast then we will have faith that is mature and that does not lack anything.
Psalms 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” This verse can be a source of comfort and joy to you because it promises that God is always going to be there during difficult times. So when people are prophesying hard times and there’s a lot of confusion in the world, always remember you have a refuge in God. He is always near and available to you if you will just run to Him.
I’ve heard many people talking about how dark and how bad the world is in this hour. But I want to remind you, there is nothing new under the sun. There has always been evil and confusion in the world. What the enemy is up to is nothing new. God is unphased by what the enemy is doing in the earth because He has already defeated him. And because you are in Christ, you have too.
It’s time for God’s people to stand in the authority Jesus has given to us and push back the darkness. It’s time for us to endure through the hard press so that the oil of our lives can lead everyone we encounter to an encounter with God. So, let this word encourage you. Let it prepare you for what is coming and most of all just know that you can have peace, joy, and mountain-moving faith in every season! The hard press is coming but you are going to come out on the other side full of God and ready to advance His Kingdom like never before!
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Joe Joe Dawson
Featured Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay
