Reflections on Israel - Olive Press

One of the hardest things in life is enduring trials of many kinds. While in the middle of the pain and sorrow, it is hard to see past the hurt.  We tend to be short-sighted, to demand an answer to our pain and anguish. We know that the pain will end at some point, but logic does not triumph over emotions when it matters the most.  Prayer seems empty, the silence is deafening, and pain is constant. We want comfort and demand answers, just like Job.  We start to question why we are having to go through the trials and why God didn't save us from the pain.  We feel crushed under an immovable object, unable to understand why it is happening to us and why it hurts so much, often questioning if God truly loves us.

An Olive Press that would be found in the time of Jesus.

The picture that comes to mind is that of Jesus praying on the Mount of Olives. Luke writes in chapter 22: 

39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

Jesus experienced pain and sorrow to the point of shedding blood. He prayed if there was any other way that this cup, this burden, can be taken away. But there was no other way, Jesus knew it, He knew that it was to fulfill the covenant made to Abraham, that He had to be the atoning sacrifice for our sin. Jesus was pressed just like an olive press and the sweet oil that would come from it was the salvation for us all. We, in the same way, experience much pain and sorrow in our lives, though we sometimes cannot see it as something that God is using to mold us. We will be squeezed and drained, the pure oil from the olive pressing will come out, and it will be the sweetest taste in the end.  God knows that to help you grow as a Christian, to grow closer to Him, He needs to squeeze you, and it will hurt. Sometimes, it is the only way that we can learn. God takes away that which blinds us so that we can rely on Him for our strength and support. And the pure oil that comes out is more precious than the hard, old, and dirty outer shell. 

Romans 12:12 states that we should rejoice in hope, have patience in our tribulations, and be constant in prayer. It does not say that God will save us from our pain and hurt, He wants us to turn to Him in the pain and hurt. We are to remember and rejoice in what Jesus did for us on the Cross, to pray to God for our support, and to have patience through our suffering. Rely on God, because He is faithful and His will is to guide us closer to Him.