OLIVE LESSONS

"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed – 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NIV)

As undesirable as they may seem, hard, tough and crushing times are sometimes part of the reality and rhythm of life. When we go through such seasons, we often wonder if they are unique to us. The truth is: tough times are not the exclusive experience of a few. God gives us grace to survive, sail through or soar over the stormy seasons of life. We can learn from the olive tree…across brook Cedron.

John 18:1-2 records: When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which He entered, and His disciples. And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with His disciples. The Lord Jesus often resorted with His disciples in the shadow and shade of Gethsemane garden. This was the olive grove where Jesus, just before his arrest said to Peter, James and John, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and wait (Mark 14:34). His heart was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death: He felt deeply and wrestled intensely with a heart-crushing burden.

The seeming coincidence of the OLIVE tree in this moment of deep heart sorrow appears symbolic and significant. It aptly explains why we often go through crushing times. Tough times are: necessary times; processing times; and preservation times.

Tough times are NECESSARY times: in order to be fruitful the olive tree requires the touch of both the east wind and the west wind. The east wind is the harsh, dry hot wind from the desert. The west wind, on the other hand, brings rain, life and nourishment from the Mediterranean. In like manner, God’s children need both the winds of tough challenges and winds of relief and refreshing to sweep across our lives if we are to be truly fruitful.

Tough times are PROCESSING times: the olive tree is naturally bitter and must go through a lengthy process to be useful. A raw olive picked from the tree will leave very bitter taste in the mouth. For the olive to be cured of bitterness and become edible, it has to go through the lengthy process of: washing, breaking, soaking, sometimes salting, and waiting some more. It takes a long and enduring process for us to be cured of the natural bitterness of the human heart.

Tough times are PRESERVATION times: the olive is strong and hard when picked straight from the tree. Harvesting olives for oil greatly benefits from hours of soaking rain, for the water to penetrate all the way up the roots, through the tree and to the olives. The olives can then be picked and preserved. The preservation comes through crushing and extracting the oil from it. The same is true for us. We are preserved as we are pressed…as we are crushed!

Thank God, this tough process of crushing isn’t the olive’s ultimate end. Crushing is only the way of preservation for the olive. It is also the means of extracting the most valuable ingredient, the oil, out of the olive. This is the perspective that helps us to appreciate how we can be troubled on every side yet not distressed …pressed to the point of being crushed but not destroyed.

So, when you pass through seasons of divine processing, remember: the challenges are necessary for you to become a champion; the processing will rid you of bitterness; and the crushing is for the sake of your preservation and maximization. Perhaps God created the olive tree to teach us these lessons!"