I love trees! I bet you do, too. I’m so very thankful to live in a location where I can look out every window and see trees. All I have to do is step outside my door and the calming presence of trees seeps into my soul. Maybe that’s why I have always loved the 92nd Psalm. It promises me that God will make me flourish like a tree planted in a good place.
“But the godly will flourish like palm trees
and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.
For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house.
They flourish in the courts of our God.
Even in old age they will still produce fruit;
they will remain vital and green.
They will declare, “The Lord is just!
He is my rock!
There is no evil in him!” Psalm 92:12-15
“The godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.” Verse 12
The two types of trees that David uses as examples are the cedar of Lebanon and the palm. Both these trees are evergreen. Yet the two examples are vastly different from each other. They serve different purposes. Their appearance is completely different. They grow in very different environments. Let’s recognize that each of us has his/her own purpose, appearance, and places to flourish. I can’t be you and you can’t be me. Let’s honor our God-given differences.
https://www.homestratosphere.com/types-of-palm-trees/
Date palms need a warm climate. The trunks of palms are bendable and can withstand storms with high winds due to their trunk’s inner structure of long fibers and their fronds with spaces for the wind to blow through. Their fruit is bountiful and ripens over the season, some early and some later so there are several harvests. Every part of the tree is useful for making other products; the trunk, the leaves, the fruit stalks, the fibre, the seeds, and the sap. They are capable of passing on new life in their seeds even after millennia. “One cultivar, the Judean date palm, is renowned for its long-lived orthodox seed, which successfully sprouted after accidental storage for 2,000 years. In total seven seeds about 2000 years old have sprouted and turned into trees.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_palm
Like the palms, God enables us to withstand the storms of life, flexibly bending without breaking. We also get results both sooner and later. Some harvests may not come until our later years. (We may not even live to see the results of our efforts.) Children who wandered from the faith may or may not return before we die. We can be useful in many ways while we live like the palm tree producing dates, seeds, leaves, and rope from the fruit stalks. Are we willing to give our efforts to the jobs God’s gives us being useful to others? We can leave a heritage like the palm tree that leaves wood after it’s cut down. Are we leaving something of lasting value for those who come behind us? Have we sown seeds of faith passing life along to the next generation and beyond?
The cedars of Lebanon grow at an elevation of 6600 feet where snow covers the ground much of the year. In this inhospitable climate they grow slowly, but steadily put out their beautiful lacy branches as they grow to well over 100 feet. Solomon purchased cedar wood to construct the beautiful temple of God. When we put our roots down deep in Jesus we’ll be a beautiful temple of God.
“It was majestic in beauty, with its spreading boughs, for its roots went down to abundant waters” Exekiel 31:7
“For they are planted in the Lord’s house. They flourish in the courts of our God.” Verse 13
We are planted by God in his presence, and we flourish as we stay close to him. We are with him from the moment we believe in Jesus. We have his Spirit in us that’s how close God is to us! We are united, bonded to Jesus. And we have his strength and wisdom for each day. We also have the certain promise of a better life coming after death. Because God raised Jesus from the dead, God will raise us from the dead. Because Jesus is seated with God in Heaven, we will be with God in Heaven. We stay close to God by obedience, prayer, Bible reading, and worshiping and learning with other believers.
“For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:6
“Even in old age they will still produce fruit.” Verse 14
We don’t have to be healthy and strong physically to produce lasting fruit. God’s Spirit produces in us delicious fruit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control. We can live out these character traits no matter what our circumstances. In fact, they shine brighter in dark circumstances. All those around us can enjoy this fruit. As a result, some will also come to faith and/or increase in faith.
“ But the fruit that comes from having the Holy Spirit in our lives is: love, joy, peace, not giving up, being kind, being good, having faith, being gentle, and being the boss over our own desires.” Galatians 5:22-23
“They will remain vital and green.” Verse 14
These Hebrew words can be translated into English as lush, fresh, healthy, strong, vigorous, luxuriant, filled with vitality, full of life, full of sap
The translation, full of sap, speaks volumes about how God engineered trees to work and how he intends for us in our old age to function.The sap is the lifeblood of the tree. “Filled with nutrients and minerals, sap is the blood of a tree.” https://www.thetreecenter.com/what-is-tree-sap/. Water and nutrients move from the soil through the roots to every part of the tree via a network of tubes. Tree rings are each year’s tubes. Sugars produced by the leaves in photosynthesis also move to every part of the tree via another type of tube.
Like the trees, God provides for us even in our old age by making us able to access the Living Water, Jesus, as we put our roots down deep into him. The nutrients we need for our wellbeing in soul, mind and spirit are ever abundant in the Bread of Life, Jesus. We have all we need to thrive and produce good results when we are connected to him and are functioning in his light.
“They will declare, “The Lord is just! He is my Rock! There is no evil in him!” Verse 15
Suffering ill health or loss of a loved one and not questioning God is a testimony to others. We can demonstrate that we still believe that God does the right thing even when he doesn’t do what we want. Our trust when things are hard to explain encourages others to trust, too. Our example of holding on to God even in hard experiences helps others to be faithful, too. We can tell others that God is our strong, unmoving Rock when our lives are turned upside down so they will know where to run when they face difficulties.
Let the trees you see remind you that God intends to make you flourish and grow strong producing fruit even in old age staying fresh and full of sap that brings all you need from Jesus.
I believe I knew your “Dear friends who exhibit the fruits of the Spirit.” Although I have not seen or heard from them in 58 years I remember them fondly. As a teenager they left a lasting impression on me. They were a beautiful young Christian family who exhibited the fruits of the Spirit in their lives. Thanks for your encouraging words. “God is indeed our strong unmoving Rock.”
Oh, isn’t it cool that you knew this dear couple long before us?! You were blessed by them in their younger years and us in our/their older years. What a gift they are to us!