I recently took a trip back to Florida where I lived a good portion of my life. As we were sitting outside, I looked at the beautiful palm trees and remembered that those trees somehow always brought me a certain comfort.

When I returned to the mountains where I currently live, I awoke to Holy Spirit quickening me to read Psalm 92. A very beautiful Psalm that seems to hold many of the concepts that God has been speaking to me in this season of my life.

The first is to cultivate a higher and greater level of thankfulness and worship. To thank Him even before I see the answers to my prayers. I have also been contemplating how much it means to me when people respond with thankfulness for the things I do for them. I realize that doing things to obtain the thankful response is not the right motive, but just getting a note of thank you seems to add a greater joy and increased desire to take the added effort to continue to bless others. When no response comes back, it is sometimes an unpleasant reminder of how many times I am negligent to express my thankfulness to the Lord for all that He has done for me.

My continued meditation on this Psalm also reminded me that choosing the way of righteousness is always the right path. In this day and hour, it sometimes would appear that evil is getting the upper hand. But that is a lie. The word of God states that the wicked are doomed forever and do not have the insight to realize how great God is. On the other hand, the righteous are anointed with fresh oil of strength and grace.

We don’t have to look very far to understand how God speaks to us through nature, which brings me back to the palm tree. They are quite amazing trees. The very image of them was carved in the cedar boards that lined the temple walls. In the book "Our Glorious Inheritance" by Mike Shreves he states that, God is also quite involved in permanently carving certain palm-like character traits in His sons and daughters. He goes on to make these points:

1. The palm trees are especially fitted to grow in difficult and even desert-like conditions.
2. Palm trees grow from within and are therefore especially fitted to recover from damaging treatment.
3. Palm trees are especially fitted to survive storms.
4. A palm tree sheds the growth from former years, so that its crown of evergreen foliage always stays as far from the earth and as close to heaven as possible.
5. Palm tree’s roots grow deep, strong, and thick.
6. Palm trees continue to be productive, for up to a century.
7. The graceful and tall palm trees provide an excellent symbol of worshipful fellowship with the Lord and of a believer who is grace-filled and upright.
8. Palm branches are used in scripture to symbolize great victory, great prosperity, and great joy.
9. Finally, it should be mentioned that it was at Jericho, the city of palm trees, that the Lord revealed himself to Joshua as the Captain of the Lords host.

Here is what the text from the Amplified Bible Classic Edition states from Psalm 92:12–15:

The [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like the palm tree [be long-lived, stately, upright, useful, and fruitful]; they shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic, stable, durable, and incorruptible]. Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of our God. [Growing in grace] they shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap [of spiritual vitality] and [rich in the] verdure [of trust, love, and contentment]. [They are living memorials] to show that the Lord is upright and faithful to His promises; He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

To summarize, the Lord brings us forth like the palm tree with these characteristics: flourishing, upright, useful, stately, majestic, stable, durable, and incorruptible. We grow in grace and bring forth fruit in our old age and are full of sap (spiritual vitality rich in love, trust, and contentment.) We become living memorials showing that the Lord is faithful to His promises.

If that’s not encouraging, I don’t know what is! Just to know that all the days of our lives, Holy Spirit is doing amazing things in us and through us as long as we remain steadfast to the Lord Jesus Christ and walk in His ways. We don’t have to fret about growing old like the world does because in our latter days our lives will be filled with the abundance of Gods mercy and grace to bring us forth as beautiful memorials to Him. As our days are, so shall our strength be. (Deuteronomy 33:25.)

So, let’s keep praising the Lord and wave our beautiful palm branches of praise, ushering Him in as the King of Kings!

Song:

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for Your unfailing love and provision! Each day, may we rise in thanksgiving and praise for all that You do for us and through us. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for the amazing way You perfect that which concerns us and conform and mold us into the image of Jesus. Help us to remember the lessons from Psalm 92, that we are not to be conformed to this world like the wicked but walk in uprightness and faithfulness. Enable us to receive each day Your fresh oil of strength and grace remembering that as we yield to You, we will be changed from glory to glory, becoming a beautiful memorial to You, and fulfilling all the days that You have written for us in Your book.

Additional Scriptures

PRAISE:

• Psalm 92:1
• Psalm 147:1
• Psalm 107:1
• Ephesians 5:19
• Psalm 135:3
• Psalm 107:21–22
• Psalm 73:28
• Psalm 33:1
• Psalm 107:8
• Daniel 4:34–37
• Daniel 5:18
• Psalm 54:6
• Isaiah 58:13–14
• Isaiah 57:15
• Psalm 107:15
• Psalm 52:9
• Revelation 4:8–11
• Psalm 92:8
• Psalm 50:23
• Psalm 82:6
• Hebrews 13:15
• Hebrews 4:9

GROWTH:

• Psalm 92:13
• 2 Peter 3:18
• Ephesians 3:17
• Isaiah 61:3
• Romans 6:5
• Isaiah 60:21
• Romans 11:17
• Psalm 100:4
• Psalm 116:19
• Psalm 135:2
• 2 Chronicles 4:9

Footnotes: Our Glorious Inheritance Volume 3 by Mike Shreve