Daily Devotional

Psalm 92:12a

The righteous flourish like a palm tree…

For some reason I’ve always really liked palm trees. I always thought of palm trees as more of a symbol of the beach than as a symbol for a flourishing faith, that is until I stumbled upon this verse.

Palm trees truly do flourish in extreme environments. While most palms live in hotter environments, some can survive cold weather and even snow! Not only are they hardy plants, but they also live for a long time. There’s actually a palm tree at Disneyland (known as the Dominguez Tree) that dates back to 1896. After 124 years, it’s still thriving, even while a theme park was built up around it!

Palm trees can not only survive, but flourish despite the circumstances surrounding them. What does flourishing look like in our lives? We may think of a clean bill of health, a positive bank account, or a healthy investment portfolio. While those things can certainly make us feel happy, that’s not what this verse is talking about. It clearly says that the “righteous flourish.” To be righteous essentially means to have a right relationship with God. This is only possible through Jesus Christ. If we are rooted in Christ, we will be able to survive any season, any storm, and any environment our lives may go through, and not only survive, but flourish!

This verse is not a promise that life will always be easy or carefree. Circumstances may surround you that make it seem impossible to survive, let alone thrive. Even in these times our faith can grow. When we lean into Jesus, we don’t see every trouble go away, but we see that we don’t face those troubles alone. Like a palm tree we can truly flourish because our roots are tapped into a source of living water that will never run dry.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.