Anointed for the Life God Has Given Us

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. — 1 John 2:20

Have you ever met someone who seems so perfectly suited to their vocation that you sense they carry an anointing from God for the work they do? Perhaps it is your pastor, who demonstrates exceptional wisdom in the ways of the Lord, a neighbor with a remarkable gift for gardening, or a teenager who shows extraordinary compassion for animals. Maybe you have encountered a stranger whose joy is so contagious that their smiles brighten your day and leave you feeling that same joy. In each of these people, we may catch a glimpse of how God has uniquely gifted and equipped someone for the life they have been given.

When we recognize this kind of anointing in another person, we see someone who seems set apart for the work before them. They serve wholeheartedly wherever God has placed them, displaying the fruit of the Spirit even through seasons of difficulty. Their lives reflect love, joy, peace, patience, and humility. Their desire is not simply to do their work well, but to honor and glorify our Heavenly Father, who has entrusted them with the responsibilities before them. Their example reminds us that anointing is not reserved for those in prominent or public roles; it can be evident in the everyday ways we serve God and others. Recognizing God’s anointing in others is one thing; recognizing it in our own lives, especially in roles the world may overlook, can be quite another.

Recognizing God’s Anointing

As I reflect on the various roles I have held throughout my life, I realize that I almost overlooked one of the most valuable roles God had entrusted to me: that of being a mother.

In the late 1990s, when my children first started school, I often encountered women who were both mothers and career professionals. I was not building a career outside the home. I was a mom. I was a homemaker. Inevitably, the question would arise: “And what do you do?” Ugh! How I dreaded that question! I would find myself answering, “Oh, I’m just a mom.” Then, one day, something changed. I began to recognize the incredible value of the work God had given me. I realized I had one of the most important jobs of all, that of raising my children.

God graciously opened my eyes to the anointing He had given me for this season of life. He had entrusted me with four precious children and set me apart for the privilege and responsibility of nurturing their hearts, guiding their steps, and helping shape their understanding of His love. I give Him all the glory and praise for that calling! I learned to embrace this season with joy, finding peace in the process of raising my children and guiding them toward adulthood. Rather than striving to be something else, I discovered that I could rest in the anointing God had given me by being faithful in the daily responsibilities of motherhood and homemaking.

I also began to see how this calling reflected the heart of God Himself.

From the beginning, God established a home for His people creating a place where His provision, presence, and love could be known. As I cared for my family and cultivated a home where love could grow, I saw how even these ordinary, often unseen tasks could reflect His character. What I had once described as “just being a mom” became a role I could embrace with gratitude, knowing that God had equipped me to serve Him right where He had placed me.

Throughout the Bible, we find many examples of people whom God chose, anointed, and set apart for His purposes. In the Old Testament, we meet David, a young shepherd whom God selected and anointed to become king of Israel. David's calling did not begin when he took the throne; it began while he was tending his father's sheep, learning to trust God and faithfully carrying out the responsibilities already in his hands. His story reminds us that God's anointing is not always revealed in a position of prominence. Often, it is nurtured in the quiet, ordinary places where we learn to be faithful with what He has entrusted to us.

In the New Testament, we see this same truth in the life of Jesus, who declared that the Spirit of the Lord had anointed Him to bring good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to the captives and the oppressed, and bring sight to the blind (Luke 4:18–19 ESV). His life reveals that anointing is not about recognition or status; it is about being empowered by God's Spirit to fulfill His purposes.

Perhaps, then, we should look at our own lives through a different lens. Instead of comparing our roles with those of others or measuring our worth by the world's standards, what if we asked God to help us recognize how He has anointed us for the life He has given us? Whether we are raising children, caring for a loved one, cultivating a garden, leading a ministry, or quietly encouraging someone who needs hope, our calling can become a place where His love is made visible.

God's anointing is not limited to a title, a platform, or a position. It is His equipping for the purpose He has entrusted to us.

When we embrace our calling with a willing heart, depend on His Spirit, and seek to glorify Him in the ordinary moments of our days, we can rest in the assurance that we are right where He can use us.

And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. — 2 Corinthians 1:21-22.

In Christ's love,

Tracey