Scattered to Gathered | Palms Up

When I was a little girl, I remember going to the beach and being so enthralled by the palm trees. They’re so unique compared to other trees, like a tall, slender lady having a great hair day and donning her earrings like she’s confident in herself.  

Did you know there are 2600 different species of palm trees? Each one unique, just like you and me. I love how we can see so many similarities in God’s creation of humans and palm trees that it helps us learn more about His purpose and plans.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 tells us, “The person who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed. He will be like a tree planted by water; it sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn’t fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.”

The Message Version says it like this: “But blessed is the man who trusts me, God, the woman who sticks with God, they’re like trees replanted in Eden, putting down roots near rivers. Never a worry through the hottest of summers, never dropping a leaf, serene and calm through droughts, bearing fruit every season.”

This scripture talks about a tree sending its roots out toward a stream. A palm tree’s roots will grow down between 12-36 inches, but instead of continuing to grow straight down like most tree roots, they start growing horizontally. The roots spread out away from the tree’s trunk in order to absorb as much water as possible.

The way the palm tree’s root system grows allows it to create a heavy anchor, making it hard to uproot. They are also very flexible which allows them to bend with the force of the winds and come right back into place once the winds have passed. In other words, they will bend but not break. The roots of these trees get stronger with every storm it endures. 

As you can see, the ability of a palm tree to reach far and wide for strength is how Jeremiah compares to us to being confident and trusting in God. This makes me ask the question: What are we reaching out towards in order to grow strong?

Have you ever heard the phrase, “from glory to glory” in 2 Corinthians 3:18? Let me read it to you:

“We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

As we grow up, our roots in Christ should be growing out and getting stronger in order to get through life’s challenges and trials. Like a palm tree battling a hurricane, we get stretched. The water replenishes. The roots grow out even more. With time, the trial becomes a testimony. We start producing the fruit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – becoming more and more like Him from glory to glory.

Phil. 1:6 says, “Being confident of this, He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ.”  So, until Christ returns, we should always be growing! He won’t give up on you, so let’s not give up on Him even in the storm.

Like I mentioned before, there is so much we can learn from God’s creation but there’s another way we relate to a palm tree. You have a palm on each hand.

Yeah, I know the word, palm tree and palm of the hand are two different words but hear me out.

Over the past couple of years, I have tried to make it a practice to put out my hands with my palms facing up when I pray. Why? Because if I’m asking and believing, then like a palm tree, I want to be stretched and willing to receive.

If you truly want peace in the storm, then why not be willing to receive the peace that you’re asking for?

But I’m going to take it one step further:

The next time you pray, whether by yourself or at church, or in a group of people, simply hold your hands out, waste high. Start with your palms down as if you are about to give something to somebody. Think of what you need to give the Lord— whatever it is that you need to let go of. Envision physically putting those requests in His hands.

Lord, we give you our burdens, our worries, our heaviness, our business, the thing we are really stressed about, the sickness. All the things, Lord, we place them in your hands.

Now, turn your hands over, palms up and receive His peace.

Lord, thank you that we can trust you with these prayers. We receive your peace in place of “all the things.” Strengthen our roots as we are reaching toward you, our Living Water. Amen.