The Oil Doesn’t Flow Overnight

Can I be honest?

We love when God gives us a word. We love prophecy. We love promise. We love when He pours oil on our lives and reminds us of who we’re called to be.

But we don’t always love what comes after.

This year during prayer, the word the Lord gave me was diligence. And when it settled in my spirit, I knew that it would be a process. I knew it would stretch me. I knew it would require consistency. I knew it would challenge me to grow into the woman God is calling me to be.

And immediately, I thought about David.

In 1 Samuel 16, David is anointed king. Oil running down his head. A defining moment. You would think everything would change overnight.

But it didn’t.

He went right back to the valley.

Back to the sheep.

Back to doing what he had always done.

Can you imagine being told you’re destined for a throne… and then being sent back to the same routine?

That part doesn’t get preached much. But that’s the part where development lives. That’s where diligence is tested.

And I didn’t just read that story I started living it.

Years ago I wrote a stage play, and last year the Lord opened the doors for us to be able to present it in front of several audiences.

When we began working on the stage play, I don’t think any of us fully understood what it would require. People saw the flyers. They saw the stage. They saw the finished production.

But what they didn’t see were the rehearsals. The rewrites. The coordination. The details that had to be refined again and again. There were nights we were tired. Moments we could have rushed. Opportunities to cut corners and just “make it work.”

But diligence wouldn’t let us.

We kept showing up.

We kept refining.

We kept developing what God had given us.

And in the end, souls were saved.

That’s when it clicked for me. Development isn’t about putting on a performance. It’s about preparing for impact and that requires diligence.

David didn’t step onto the battlefield with Goliath and suddenly become brave. His courage was built in fields nobody celebrated. He fought lions and bears when no one was watching. The pasture built what the battlefield revealed.

And I’ve seen that same pattern in my own life.

As a counselor-in-training, diligence looks like studying when I’m tired and practicing skills that don’t get applause. As an author, it looked like writing through pain long before anyone held the book in their hands. As a builder of vision, it looks like structure before dimension.

None of it is glamorous.

But all of it is necessary.

Sometimes development feels frustrating because you see others blooming while you’re still in your “valley season.” You see visibility. You see celebration. You see movement.

But God keeps whispering this to me:

Your pasture is producing oil.

In all that I do,

Every rehearsal. Every late night. Every counseling class. Every quiet prayer when it feels like nothing is shifting.

It’s not just sharpening your skills. It’s shaping your character.

From a counseling perspective, we understand that growth happens through repetition. When you consistently show up, you don’t just improve — you begin to see yourself differently. David didn’t just defeat a lion once. He became someone who knew he could overcome.

That’s what diligence does.

It changes you.

And that’s why “I Am Moore” means so much to me. It’s not about having more things or reaching more platforms. It’s about becoming more.

More disciplined. More healed. More aligned. More consistent.

I’ve learned you don’t become “Moore” in the spotlight. You become Moore in the valley. In rehearsals. In study sessions. In quiet obedience when no one is watching and nothing feels dramatic.

The oil doesn’t flow overnight.

It flows after pressing. After consistency. After choosing to stay when quitting would be easier.

So if you feel like you’ve been anointed… but sent back, hear me: you’re not behind.

You’re being developed.

And when your Goliath moment comes whether it’s a stage, a practice, a ministry, a book, or something only God sees right now you’ll stand there with a confidence that wasn’t built in public.

It was built in private.

Stay diligent.

There is oil in your obedience.

And I promise you… it’s worth it. 🤍