The Olive Tree

This morning I came across a verse that caught my attention and really encouraged me to stop and think for a moment. I read it in the NKJV but I am giving it to you in the amplified version..

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in and confidently rely on the loving-kindness and the mercy of God forever and ever.
I will thank You and confide in You forever, because You have done it [delivered me and kept me safe]. I will wait on, hope in and expect in Your name, for it is good, in the presence of Your saints (Your kind and pious ones). ~Psalm 52: 8-9

Why did this David, the psalmist here, reference himself to the olive tree? My Bible said that it was not a common practice to plant an olive tree in the temple courts so why did David reference this "in the house of God"? I looked up some information about the olive tree and here is what I found...

Olive trees live long with a life expectancy of 500 years.

It made me think to myself, how am I living out my faith? Is my faith persistent, tenacious, perseverant? Am I confidently relying on God? Will it last my life time?

Olive trees withstand heavy pruning.

When God prunes me how do I react? It is much easier to wither and die in our faith then to accept pain or challenges and praise Him anyway. I need to wait on, hope in and expect in God to be with me during these times.

The olive three is not easily uprooted.

Are my faith roots strong enough to be tough, powerful enough to stand for His cause, and guarded by scripture? Does the Holy spirit serve as my guide and does scripture feed my soul daily?

The trunk is typically gnarled and twisted. The older an olive tree is, the broader and gnarlier its trunk appears.

What does my life look like? How does the basis of my faith appear despite that? Do others see the grace of God in and though me, or do they see life's hardness and resulting callouses? Though life can leave us twisted and gnarled we can but grow closer to God and His calling because of it. We can be beautiful in Him and for Him.

The olive tree is said to be one of the most significant plants in the Bible. It is one of the first plants mentioned in the Bible. Knowing it's strength and durability, it would make sense that it was an olive leaf that a dove brought back to Noah to demonstrate that the flood was over.

We can overcome conflict and adversity. We can overcome weaknesses. We can overcome strongholds. We can even overcome sin if we just trust in Gods unfailing love and praise Him. Praise Him for the good and praise Him for the bad.

Over the years, the olive has been the symbol of peace, wisdom, glory, fertility, power and pureness.

Could we all use a little of those words in our life and ministry? Peace to build a unifying body in Christ, wisdom to teach and or discern, glory for God with the fruit (fertility) that comes from our serving Him, a demonstrated power that can only come from the Holy Spirit at work in and through us, and holiness (pureness) demonstrated in our daily lives. Let me be greedy here as I seek to have all these things!

The oil from the olive tree has scientific proven health-given benefits.

God's evidence has shown that we too can be spiritually beneficial to those we serve. To have the gift of God's spirit working in and through our lives, leading others to His love and grace is what we are all called to do in every aspect of our lives. Too often we get too busy in the here and now and forget the eternal work before us.

I desire to be an olive tree flourishing in this world for kingdom purposes. To take from the words of Christ in Acts 26:18:

"To open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may thus receive forgiveness and release from their sins and a place and portion among those who are consecrated and purified by faith in Me".

Seriously, how is your service to God going? David was going though a rough time in his life when he wrote the 52nd Psalm. He declared he wanted to be strong in the Lord. So I asked myself and I ask you....are you an olive tree flourishing for Him? God made me think about it today in terms of the olive tree and I give it to you to think about. May we all be encouraged by this thought!

His Maidservant, Pamela