The Narrow Way

You’ve cried tears no one saw.
Prayed prayers no one heard.
Carried burdens that bent your back
and bruised your heart.
But heaven was never absent.
He was bottling the tears.
And preparing the oil.

Isaiah 61:3 promises beauty for ashes,
joy instead of mourning,
and “the oil of gladness instead of a spirit of despair.”

This is not shallow happiness.
This is not a mood swing.
This is holy gladness, an anointing that only comes through the crushing.

Because oil only flows when the olive is pressed.
And you, beloved, have been pressed.
Pressed in the dark.
Pressed in the silence.
Pressed until you thought you had nothing left to give.

But what came out wasn’t bitterness.
It was oil.

He didn’t just bring you through.
He anointed you on the way out.

And now, you don’t just carry joy
you carry healing.
You walk into rooms,
and the residue of His gladness shifts the atmosphere.
Your laugh breaks chains.
Your story softens hearts.
Your presence releases peace.

Because this isn’t personality.
It’s presence.
This isn’t hype.
It’s heaven.

You wear gladness now.
Like a mantle.
Like armor.
Like fragrance from the secret place.

So don’t tone it down.
Don’t question it.
Don’t apologize for it.

You paid for this oil.
He poured it freely.
Now walk in it boldly.

You are anointed with the oil of gladness.
And no sorrow, past, present, or future, can take that from you.