When on the 6th day God finished the work of creation, He “saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). God’s intent for His creation was for it to flourish. God is glorified when His creation flourishes. That’s why as His children, made in His image and re-created in redemption by the blood of the Lamb, we have this burning desire at the very depths of our being to flourish and thrive.
Why? Flourishing is woven into the very goal of our redemption in Christ who has promised us eternal and abundant life (John 10:10). It is God’s will and desire for His children to pursue and experience flourishing. To flourish means to bud, to break forth, to sprout, to send out shoots, to blossom, to bloom, to be healthy and full oflife, to spread, to be successful, fulfilling God’s plan and purpose for the total man in and through our lives. Biblical flourishing encompasses all of our being, including our spiritual, material, psychological and emotional aspects-not just our material prosperity with its false hope of happiness .
A question will do then at this point: Have you noticed that believers are often likened to trees in Scripture? You see, God’s care is reflected most beautifully in creation. Jesus often appealed to Ie sons in nature to demonstrate God’s care for His children. He spoke of birds that neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns but are fed. He also spoke of the lilies of the field: how they grow without toiling or spinning (Matthew 6:26-30).
Now to the big question: How do we flourish? How does God want us to really, truly flourish? Who has He called us to be to the very end of our life here on Earth? The answer is right before us in our text Scripture:
Psalm 92:12a Kjv: The Righteous Shall Flourish Like The Palmtree
So what does it mean to “flourish like the palm tree”? In what respect does the palm tree flourish that the Lord has chosen it as the beautiful metaphor here for the flourishing of His own? First, let’s quickly settle a little matter of background in this text: In Scripture, the palm is always the date palm, which was common in the region of Palestine in those days-not the native palm tree we know and see cultivated in our part of the world that is also as highly valued as the date palm. But both the palm tree as we know it and the date palm belong to the same genus of Phoenix in the plant kingdom. It is another way of saying they belong in the family together, but are essentially uniquely different.
5 LESSONS FROM THE PALM TREE
God has a wealth and depth of meaning in our text: “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree.” But why the palm tree and not any other tree? It is because the palm tree is a peculiar tree. And in the palm tree, God has for us a treasure of portraits and signposts of His master plan for our flourishing. Simply put, the palm tree possesses natural characteristics befitting the character and life of the saint-everyone God has chosen before the foundation of the world for His very own.
As we strive to build godly character in our lives, God uses the physical to help us understand how to build on the spiritual level. Let’s now sit at the foot of this tree and learn of God how exactly He wants us to flourish and thrive in life for His glory.
(1) IT IS EVERGREEN
It has deep tap roots, called a root ball, which goes down until it strikes living springs ofwater. Thus it can flourish even in the desert, grow all year round, even in the dead of the dry season. The palm tree simply flourishes-despite its surroundings. And God says this is the way the righteous will flourish.
- Life Lessons
- This quality typifies the constant freshness of the spirit-filled life. God wants us like the palm tree, evergreen, ever showing signs oflife, ever prosperous in all things pertaining to life and godliness.
- It also portrays the deep anchorage and fresh nourishment of the righteous. Because Christ is our anchor, we can’t be easily uprooted or blown away by the inevitable storms of life.
- The righteous is spiritually equipped to survive in any harsh condition without losing colour, beauty or
relevance.
The righteous shalljlourish like the pal m tree.
(2) THE PALM TREE REMAINS STRONG
The palm tree is a peculiar tree. It grows stately and beautiful heavenward to a great height of up to about 75 feet (23 metres) with a little tuft of green at the top with
no side branchings. So also does it live long, reaching the age of I 00-200 years.
- Life Lesson
- The righteous are exalted above their fellows in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:19-21; 2:6).
- The palm tree is also a picture perfect metaphor of strength and longevity for the righteous. Deuteronomy 33:25
… As your days so shall your strength be.
The righteous shalljlourish like the palm tree.
(3) ABUNDANT FRUITFULNESS
Throughout its life, the palm tree produces fruit every year, and in great abundance of clusters, too. And the older the palm tree, the more abundant, luscious and sweeter its fruit.
- Life Lessons
- The longer the Christian is in the way of the Lord, the sweeter and more abundant his all-round fruitfulness. No wonder verses 13 and 14 of our text Scripture declares so beautifully and triumphantly:
Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing.
- To be fruitful, we must abide in Christ as our Source of life and fruitfulness.
John 15:5: I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
The righteous shall jlourish like the palm tree.
(4) THE MOST USEFUL OF ALL TREES
Every part of the palm tree is useful with nothing wasted. The fruits are used to make oil and the shaft therefrom to generate fire for cooking. The leaves are used for making brooms, thatched roofs, fences, mats and baskets. The seeds, when ground, produce food for livestock. The sap is taken as palm wine while the stem is used as beams for various applications. So also are some delicious insects gotten from the decayed stem.
- Life Lessons
- The truly righteous will ever be relevant, ever adding value, ever fruitful in every way for all oflife.
The righteous shalljlourish like the palm tree.
(5) THE PALM TREE IS A TESTIMONY OF PRAISE
(a) Palm trees were carved into the walls of Solomon’s temple round about (1 Kings 6:29).
(b) Palm branches were used in the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:40).
(c) It was palm branches that padded the path of the Lord Jesus as He rode into Jerusalem in His Triumphal Entry on that first Sunday long ago (John 12:13; Matthew 21:8).
(d) A great multitude of the redeemed and resurrected saints of all nations, peoples and tongues will greet the Lord Jesus at His throne “clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,” and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9, 10 KJV).
- Life Lesson
- The lives of the righteous should be unceasing testimonies of praise, victory and salvation to the
glory ofthe Lord. The righteous shallflourisb like the palm tree.
