The Righteous Shall Flourish!

From our anchored Scripture, it is very clear that we are intended by our Creator to flourish. He created us to blossom and to grow and wants our lives to be colorful, joyful and full. The psalmist’s prayer is for the righteous to increase like the cedar with strength, stability, majesty and blossom like the palm tree. However, sin is indeed the thing that has destroyed the richness of life and continue to keep us from flourishing as God intended. Sin makes our lives barren and fruitless.

When we are planted in the house of God, we will flourish like a palm tree that bears fruit. Those who are planted by God Himself cannot be pulled down or be barren. They will continue to bring forth fruit even in old age. The palm tree is very unique, all of its parts are valuable, even the chaffs of the palm seed is useful and valuable. Jeremiah 17:8 says “He will be like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.” Have you ever seen a palm tree in the midst of a great storm? That tree may be bent so far over that it’s almost touching the ground, but when the wind finally stops, that palm tree bounces right back up. What’s interesting is that while that palm tree is hunched over under the pressure of the storm, it is actually becoming stronger. See, the reason God said we’d flourish like a palm tree is because He knows there would be difficult times. He knows things would come against us to try to steal our joy and victory. However, we’re going to be like a palm tree because when the storms of life blow, we are going to come right back up stronger than before.