“But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.” (Psalm 52:8 NIV)

I caught this verse yesterday and it’s still settling into my spirit. In the preceding verses, it seems that the psalmist has faced such persecution. Knowing David’s story, that makes sense. He writes on and on about the tactics and tendencies of evil men and then he makes a surprising statement. “But I am like an olive tree flourishing…”

A well-placed ‘but’ interrupts David’s train of thoughts and allows him to switch tracks entirely. He remembers the faithfulness of God and he begins to identify the fruit of that faithfulness in his own life.

David didn’t have an easy existence. He was wildly persecuted on both ends of his life; first by Saul and then by his sons. But, he is an olive tree flourishing.

I keep connecting olives to olive oil. Olives pressed produce oil. Persecution (from others or our Enemy) produces anointing if we’ll pull close to Christ and strive to remain righteous in the wake of pain.

David was pressed and so was our Savior. In fact, over and over in the gospels it says “the crowd was pressing” (Luke 5:1). Everywhere He went, Jesus was pressed. Perhaps the constant press of people prepared Him for the cross?

Did you know that Gethsemane means ‘a place of pressing?’ Wasn’t our Lord hard-pressed, for Kingdom’s sake? Didn’t He flourish? Why would we expect or desire any different! Don’t we want to be made like Him?

Jesus was pressed and His best was expressed. What about us? What is expelled when we are squeezed a bit on all sides? Our prayer should be that our expression would produce anointing and praise, that the world might note our song amidst our distress as they did David’s.

“For what you have done I will always praise you in the presence of your faithful people. And I will hope in your name, for your name is good.” (Psalm 52:9 NIV)

Lord, we know now that we are grown for the sole purpose of expressing. What is an olive if not for the oil? Let our lives give You glory when it’s broken and bleeding. May outside pressure produce anointing and praise. Amen.