Fire Resistant Faith
By Pastor Lucy Kyllonen
A few weeks ago, some dear friends of mine shared something with me that I had never heard before about the olive tree. Knowing my love for the story of the olive tree, they proceeded to tell me that the olive tree is fire-resistant.
This blew my mind!
The more I learned, the more I knew I had to share it with you.
Olive trees are able to withstand fire because they retain moisture deep within. Their leaves are thick and leathery, making them difficult to ignite. Unlike other trees that contain highly flammable resins, olive trees are uniquely designed to endure conditions that would quickly consume other vegetation.
But here's what fascinated me most:
Even if a wildfire scorches the trunk and burns the branches, the olive tree often survives.
Why?
Because beneath the surface is an incredibly strong root system capable of producing new growth. I need to repeat that again: beneath the layers, beneath the surface, is an incredibly strong root system that is capable of producing new growth.
I couldn't help but think about our own lives. Because let's face it, it's one thing to talk about an olive tree surviving a wildfire, but it's another thing entirely when you are the one standing in the ashes of a dream, a relationship, or a plan that completely fell apart. Sometimes the fire isn't a literal flame; it's a phone call from a doctor, a text message that breaks your heart, or the slow, quiet erosion of your energy as you try to take care of everyone else while secretly drowning.
Maybe you've felt like you've been walking through fire lately—a difficult season, a disappointment, a loss, an unexpected setback, or a season that feels dry, exhausting, or overwhelming. Yes, I know. I've been there. Yet, God still gives me these beautiful nuggets of truth to encourage me.
Don't forget what an olive goes through before it produces oil. Think of olives in a press. The pressure is real. It's not imaginary. It's not "in your head." The weight is actually there, bearing down on you from all sides: financial pressure, relational pressure, health pressure, and demands that won't stop, along with expectations that keep multiplying.
Hard-pressed means you are under genuine, sustained weight.
It's not weakness to feel it. It's not faithlessness to name it. The olive gets pressed—hard—but it doesn't disintegrate into nothing. Something emerges. Oil comes out.
Isaiah 43:1-3 beautifully reminds us.. “…Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
Notice God doesn't say IF you walk through the fire. He says WHEN! When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned.
The promise isn't that we'll avoid every hard season. The promise is that His presence will sustain us through it. As believers, we carry something greater than our circumstances. We carry the Living Water of Christ within us. Even when everything around us feels dry, God continues to nourish our souls.
The fire may touch your circumstances, but it cannot consume your identity.
I’m reminded of the difference between a regular glass and a delicate wine glass. Both go through the fire. Both are formed under intense heat and pressure. But the wine glass has specific minerals added during refinement so it can be shaped with greater precision to carry something unique. It may feel delicate, maybe even fragile, but it isn't weaker. In fact, if you flick it, it carries a beautiful, ringing sound that a regular glass could never produce.
If your life has had fires and pressures added to it that you never expected, know this: the heat didn’t weaken you—it was refining you. God is giving your soul a new song to sing, and you carry a sound, a tenderness, and an oil that could only come from what pressed you.
The pressure may be real, but so is the oil God is producing. The season may feel barren, but your roots run deeper than you realize. And even if life has left you feeling scorched, God is still able to bring forth new growth.
The olive tree reminds us that resilience isn't found in our own strength. It's found in what is happening beneath the surface—in the places where God is quietly developing roots, strengthening faith, and sustaining us with His life.
So, if you're in a fiery season today, don't lose heart. You will not burn. The Living Water within you is greater than the heat around you. And what God has planted, He is more than able to restore.
With you on the journey,
Lucy K.
