1 Kings 18:38 (NKJV) ~ “Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice… and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.”
Hello Sunshine! You have been on the floor for four days now. You bowed low in humility! You allowed separation to refine your attachments! You stood in the gap in intercession! You endured crushing that produced oil! Now you arrive at a deeper revelation: the floor does not just prepare you for fire, it teaches you how to get oil from ashes!
As I was working on another song earlier, I heard it clearly in my spirit: “How do you get oil from ashes?” Ashes represent what has burned. They are what remains after fire consumes something. They are residue of loss, residue of grief, residue of disappointment. Yet Isaiah declares there is oil of joy for mourning. That means oil can rise from what looked destroyed. The oil does not come from pretending the fire did not happen. It comes from surrendering what burned to God. On the floor of humility, you admitted you were not in control.
On the floor of separation, you released what could not go with you. On the floor of intercession, you carried others in prayer. On the floor of crushing, you endured pressure. Now, standing at the altar rebuilt, you realize the ashes are not your end, they are your exchange point.
Elijah rebuilt the altar before fire fell. After the fire consumed the sacrifice, there were ashes, but those ashes testified that something had been accepted by God. Ashes mean the offering was received. What burned was not wasted, it was worship. Oil from ashes begins with your perspective. Instead of asking, “Why did this burn?” you begin asking, “What did this produce?” Fire removes what is temporary and what remains is refined substance. Oil is not extracted from untouched fruit; it is released from pressed fruit. Joy is not born from ease; it is born from endurance.
There was once a woman who lost her job unexpectedly. It felt like fire. Plans collapsed. Security vanished. For weeks she sat on her living room floor praying through tears. One evening, she wrote in her journal, “If this burned, what oil is forming?” She began volunteering at a community center while searching for work. Months later, she discovered a new calling serving families in crisis. What felt like ashes became oil. The loss was the floor. The surrender was the altar. The oil was purpose!
Ashes humble you; and they remind you that you cannot preserve everything. But oil empowers you. It flows, anoints, and lights lamps. Oil sustains fire. That means what you gained from crushing now fuels what you carry into calling! The beauty-for-ashes exchange happens when you stay on the floor long enough to allow grief to transform into gratitude. It is not denial; it is surrender. It is saying, “God, if it burned, use it.” Isaiah 61:3, “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…”
You cannot collect oil while clinging to ashes. Separation taught you to release. Intercession taught you to carry others. Crushing taught you to endure. Now preparation teaches you to steward what remains. The fire of God does not only consume you, it consecrates you. After humility, you are grounded. After separation, you are lighter. After intercession, you are strengthened. After crushing, you are deeper. Now after ashes, you are anointed by God!
Oil from ashes means the very thing that tried to destroy you becomes the very source of your anointing. What burned becomes your testimony! What collapsed became your construction site! The floor changes you so that when fire falls, you are not afraid of what burns, you trust what remains. You understand that ashes are not endings; they are evidence that sacrifice was made and accepted by God. So today, instead of sweeping away the ashes of past seasons in shame, gather them in your surrender and let God exchange them. Let the oil rise where mourning once settled and let your joy seep into cracks left.
After humility.
After separation.
After intercession.
After crushing.
After fire.
Oil flows from ashes! And when oil flows from ashes, you no longer fear the fire. You understand that whatever God allows to burn is never without purpose. The ashes mark where transformation occurred. The oil marks where empowerment begins. What once looked like devastation becomes divine preparation.
When you rise from the floor this time, you will be carrying oil instead of ashes, your fragrance changes the atmosphere. Oil healed your wounds. Oil lights your lamps. Oil consecrates kings and priests. That means the very place you thought disqualified you becomes the place that distinguishes you and set you a part for others. You are not rising empty-handed; you are rising anointed by God’s Hand!
Let’s Pray:
Father, I come before You acknowledging the ashes in my life. There are places that burned. There are dreams that have shifted. There are expectations that collapsed. Yet I refuse to see ashes as the end of my story. I lay my ashes at Your altar. I surrender disappointments, failures, losses, and unanswered questions. If it burned, I trust that You allowed it for purpose. Exchange my mourning for oil of joy. Let gladness rise where heaviness once rested. Let light shine where grief once lingered. Let hope replace hesitation. Teach me how to draw oil from what felt destroyed. Show me how to see refinement where I once saw ruin. Shift my perspective from loss to legacy. Father, Thank You for humility that anchored me. Thank You for separation that freed me. Thank You for intercession that strengthened me. Thank You for crushing that deepened me. Use every stage of the floor to fuel my fire. Guard my heart against bitterness over what burned. Replace resentment with revelation. Replace regret with redemption. Cleanse my memory of shame and fill it with gratitude. Anoint me with fresh oil. Let my testimony carry fragrance. Let endurance become empowerment. Let what I survived become strength for someone else. God, help me steward what remains after the fire. If ashes are proof of sacrifice, let oil be proof of surrender. Teach me to honor the process instead of resenting it. Give me courage to trust You again. If something must burn, let it burn away what limits me. Preserve what aligns with Your purpose. Protect what You are rebuilding. Where I feel weary, refresh me. Where I feel empty, fill me. Father, where I feel uncertain, anchor me. Where I feel exposed, cover me. Let my ashes not define me, but refine me. Let my oil not inflate me but humble me. Keep my heart soft and my spirit surrendered. For the rest of this month, teach me daily how to exchange ashes for oil. Let every tear become seed. Let every surrender become strength. Let every floor moment that I have produce lasting transformation within me. I rise from the floor not as a victim of the fire, but as a vessel of oil. Father, I trust Your exchange. I trust Your timing. I trust Your transformation. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.
Nugget ~ Ashes are not proof that you failed, they are proof that something was surrendered. And oil is not proof that life was easy, it is proof that you endured the process. What burned refined you. What fell apart prepared you. The fire removed what could not sustain your future, and the floor strengthened what could. Now the oil flowing from your story carries wisdom and witness. You are not rising empty-handed; you are rising prepared for His glory and your good. Ashes mark what burned. Oil marks what was reborn!
Blessings…
Love, Dr. Jean…
Have A Great Weekend…
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