“But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.  I will give thanks forever, because You have done it, And I will wait on Your name, for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.”  Psalm 52:8-9 (NASB)

This past weekend, our hometown had straight-line winds blow through.  Branches broke off, trees were uprooted and anything outside was fair game to be moved.  Chad, I, and the boys were on our way back into town on our motorcycles when the wind hit.  As soon as the weather became scary, Caleb leaned around me and said, “I’m praying to God right now”.  Bless his heart!  The next mile I feared for our lives, but we had to keep going to get to shelter.  We were able to get the bikes parked near a dairy barn to ride out the storm.  A car pulled off with us and was able to give the boys and I shelter while Chad looked for his windshield. (His key was in his windshield bag, and the wind blew it across the road and into a field).  Looking back, I should say I have no idea how I was able to hold my bike against the wind, except I do have an idea- Caleb was praying.  While my body is still sore from holding the bike against the wind, I am thankful for our lives.

Storms come and go in our lives; when they blow in, we have no idea how we are going to handle them.  We think we have to physically muster through, to plan our route and take care of the details.  We worry, we fret, we get busy.  These are our first thoughts because we are human.  As a believer, we need to be constantly reminded to start with prayer- to get our minds focused in the right direction.  He will iron out the details and make them work- yes we still need to do our part.      Our part is preparing our hearts for when the storms do come, because they will.  James 1:2; “Consider it pure joy my brothers when you encounter various trials”; When, not if.  So how do we prepare our hearts?  By getting in the Word, knowing the Word, studying the Word, and in prayer.  In other words, growing strong roots that will withstand the storm.

The roots of an Olive Tree, while strong, are closer to the surface than most trees, and spread out under the canopy of the tree.  The root system can then absorb moisture that could easily evaporate in a desert air.  It needs a steady dose of nourishment to maintain its strength.  The tree can survive fire as well, even if it was burnt down to the stump, it can recover and grow back.  The tree is resilient.

Lord, let me be like an Olive Tree- let my roots grab hold quickly and deeply into your Word.  Holy Spirit, help my faith to stay strong; help me to trust in your providence for my daily needs.  Lord, when the trials come, and I get burnt, help me to grow back stronger and share my story of what you have done for me.   “The phrase, “wait on Your name” means to hope and depend on the character of God as expressed in His great name.  The psalm ends with David vowing to praise the Lord in the congregation as soon as God established him in his kingdom.  The private victories God gives us should be announced publicly for the encouragement of God’s people.” (Wiersbe, 2004)

The storm did topple/uproot many trees in our fair town so we were reminded that storms will come- that our faith will be tested, so I will continue to pray that God would make me like a green, young, strong, olive tree.