One of our growing organizations,
My Olive Tree, was birthed out of
a heart to support the land and
the people of Israel. It is a project
focused on legacy—on blessing
many generations to come.
In 2004 I sat with Israel’s then
f i n a n c e m i n i s t e r, n o w P r i m e
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and
we discussed a huge humanitarian
initiative I was involved in—a project
that would bring in more than
twenty million dollars’ worth of aid
to Israel. It was a huge endeavor.
The finance minister was polite and
seemed grateful but also expressed
a heartfelt concern: he did not want
Israel to become dependent on
charity from the outside. He desired
to see the country prosper and have
an economy that supported itself.
A few years later, the concept of My
Olive Tree was presented to us by a
group of Israelis from a kibbutz in
the Galilee region. They wanted My
Olive Tree to partner with them to
plant one million olive trees all over
their country, especially in desert
regions.
At first I was overwhelmed and
hesitant about their presentation.
I liked the idea, but I felt sure that
the undertaking was beyond our
abilities. Then, however, I felt the
prompting of the Holy Spirit, urging
me to step outside our meeting
place. When I responded, the Spirit
showed me a vision of a blue and
green globe like that which you
would see in a photograph of the
earth from space. As I gazed at it,
the Lord spoke to me: “You see all
those little green spots? I planted
all those without your help.” Then I
remembered something David Ben-
Gurion, the first prime minister of
Israel, had once said: “If an expert
says it can’t be done, get another
expert.”
After that, my hesitation was gone.
I wasn’t up for God finding someone
else to do this job. I was in. That
is how My Olive Tree got started.
Since that day this organization has
partnered with sponsors around the
world to plant nearly forty thousand
olive trees in Israel. Yes, that’s a
far cry from our huge vision for one
million, but we’re not finished yet.
It’s not unusual for prophetic
covenant promises to involve huge
visions that will take generations to
fulfill. In Genesis 22 we read that as
Abraham was taking his covenant
son, Isaac, to the place of sacrifice,
he looked and “saw the place afar
off” (v. 4). Then Abraham said, “We
will come back” (v. 5).
I personally believe that when
Abraham lifted his eyes, he saw a
prophetic vision of the future and
knew that all would be well, that he
could trust God to take care of His
covenant promise.
In fact, some believe that the place
he saw from “afar off” was Golgotha,
the hill on which Yeshua would be
crucified—the place of redemption.
When it comes to My Olive Tree, I can
see “afar off” too. I know that even if
I do not get to see the one-millionth
tree planted, our little Ariebella will.
Solutions • 47