Aspects III: Used Olive Tree
- Lisa Livezey
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
You plotted evil against me, but God turned it into good.
—Genesis 50:20 GNT
Fine olive oil, gourmet olives, auto-immune supplements, and polished carvings. All are produced through invasive actions to the olive tree. Its wood was chopped, sawed, carved, and sanded. Its fruit was picked, sliced, or pressed. Its leaves were gathered, dried, shredded, and encapsulated.
Feeling used, picked at, carved up, pressed upon, or shredded? Have hope. God is able to work it all for good, even after the worst kind of treatment.
Prayer
When others use us, let us not become bitter, dear Lord. Instead, take what we have been through and make us useful in new ways for Your service.
Quote
Oh! Happy loss! in which the soul losing itself completely in God, is so perfectly found!
—St. Paul of the Cross, Letters Volume 1, no. 342
Thought
Olive oil is sometimes called liquid gold.
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Today's devotion is third in a series entitled Aspects of the Olive Tree culminating in an opportunity to join The Olive Grove, a fuller version of Olive Tree Blog. The Grove will offer each devotion with P.R.I.S.M., a form of Visio Divina. This allows for more personal application and reflection within each devotion. (A free version of Olive Tree Blog will remain available on my Substack page.)
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Last week Jacqueline Harper, Jenn Lozano, and I touched on themes like surrender, self-absorption, suffering, and praying to a hidden God
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