Palm trees

"Without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace.  The gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase."
St. Rose of Lima

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The flashes of lightening woke me up in the middle of the night.  The condo that we were staying in had floor to ceiling windows without curtains. The space intermittently filled with light as if we were turning every switch in the place off and on.  The raging winds almost made me wonder if a hurricane was nearby.  I was no stranger to hurricanes, but I was not used to being so close to the ocean during a storm, so I wasn't sure if this was normal or not.  We were in a different country without weather forecasts.  We didn't even have the means to check the weather other than standing outside.  Did everyone know about an impending huge storm except us? 

I walked out onto the balcony to see palm trees whipping around.  Our condo was only yards away from the shore.  I assumed that there would be tons of debris and broken trees the next day.  I somehow managed to fall back asleep, praying that a tsunami wouldn't wash us away.  

The next morning as I walked outside, I was completely amazed.  The sun shone brilliantly on the calm water.  People strolled the shore while workers set up beach chairs as if nothing had happened the night before.  Was it a dream? I assumed everyone slept through the storm and had no idea about it. But the thing that astounded me the most was that the palm trees stood upright and proud, with their leaves gently swaying in the breeze.  Not one leaf had fallen to the ground.  Every tree stood unfazed.  How in the world did they endure that storm? 

Fast forward months ahead and I had forgotten all about that storm. Then one evening, while praying for someone going through a long trial, a picture of a palm tree flashed in my mind.  I knew it was from God because it was just too bizarre an image for me to conjure up.  "God, I'm praying for this person and you're showing me a palm tree?  How in the world is that supposed to speak to them or help them?"  That's when I began my research about the physical make up of a palm tree and how it relates to our spiritual lives.  

Beginning in the ground, the palm tree has rambling roots.  There are a large number of short roots that spread across the upper levels of soil, about 36".  They extend for yards away from the trunk of the tree.  This creates a strong, heavy anchor into a large area of soil.

Did you know that palm trees are not made out of wood that grows in rings, such as an oak tree?  They are actually made up of many small bundles of woody tissue, much like the wires inside a telephone cable.  Some of their cells are malleable and can easily flex.  The lack of conventional structure is what gives the palm its flexibility.  They are designed to weather storms, bending 45 to 50 degrees without snapping.  In fact, after a bad storm, they are actually stronger!

Finally, the palm is made with clever leaves.  In regular trees, the canopy acts as a sail and can pull a tree over during strong winds.  Branches also fall and break.  The palm has huge leaves, like feathers.  During nice weather, they stand out and make a shaded umbrella for sun bathers.  During windy storms, they fold up so they are less resistant to the elements.  Therefore, they are more likely to make it through intact.  Also, it takes much less time for the leaves of a palm tree to grow compared to a regular tree.  
 
As I said earlier, the image of the palm tree that God showed me while praying for my friend made me very curious.  So after I dug into the anatomy of the tree, I searched the bible to see how palm trees apply to us.  In Psalm 92:12, the NKJV Bible reads "The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree."  Sounds great to me!  But does it really when you add the equation: 
Palm Tree + Storm = Us flourishing? 

I cannot over emphasize that we will go through trials during our lifetime.  Small or big, they are inevitable.  Jesus even says in John 16:33, "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."  But what happens through those trials and the result it produces are the essence of the palm tree scripture and the sanctification process.  

Just as the palm tree has roots that extend for yards away from the trunk of the tree, our anchor must be rooted in an authentic, close relationship with Jesus.  If you look at the picture above of the roots of the palm tree, you'll see that there are several roots.  Our walk with Christ is a constant abiding in Him.  He wants relationship with us, and that's what we are created for.  The main scripture that I think of when discussing being rooted in Him is Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."  It all starts there, friends!  The metaphorical storms and earthquakes will come and everything will crumble to reveal what our foundation is built upon.  Stay rooted!!
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“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock."  Matthew 7:24-27
 
The malleableness of the trunk whipping around in the wind, growing stronger after each storm, reminds me of Psalm 84:5-7,  "Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage.  As they pass through the valley of Baca, They make it a spring;  The rain also covers it with pools.  They go from strength to strength; Each one appears before God in Zion." 

The word baca means "to weep".  The psalmist uses the Valley of Baca to illustrate a sorrowful, hard path in life. Sometimes are hardships last months and years.  These are the types of trials that I am discussing here in this text.  They are like standing in the ocean when a wave pounds you to the sand, but just as you try to regain your stance, another one comes and pounds you again.  Over and over.  They feel relentless, heavy, and paralyzing at times. 

A heart that breaks, surrenders and calls out to God repeatedly through these hardships experiences something very rich in the end.  The strengths translated in Psalm 84 means that we go from our strength to His strength. It is in our weakness that He is strong, and that's how God gets the glory.  In The Cry of the Soul, Longman and Allender state, "God meets you in your weakness, not in your strength.  He comforts those who mourn, not those who live above desperation.  He reveals Himself more often in darkness than in the happy moments of life." 

A beautiful transformation happens in the soul.  We become more Christ-like and empathetic.  We know Him more and have the compassion to share Him with others, especially others who are going through what we went through. 2 Corinthians 1:4 says  "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." 

If we are rooted in Jesus, how does He help us in the midst of the storm?  Just as the palm leaves curl up in a storm for less resistance in order to remain intact, God has a safe place for us, too.  I love Corrie Ten Boom's book The Hiding Place.  During her hardship of living in a concentration camp during WWII, she relates to the psalmist in the 32nd chapter verse 7, "You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance."  Psalm 119:114 states "You are my refuge and shield; I have put my hope in your word."  Finally, Psalm 17:8 says "Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings."  The palm leaves remind me of feathers.  There is no safer place to be than abiding in Jesus.  His promises are real, even when our faith is weak and our burden is heavy. 

Being close to God, sensing His presence, understanding Him and His will for my life means more to me than anything else in this world.  I am never more dependent on God than when I am going through a storm.   Just as a palm tree becomes stronger after the storm, so we become more like Him, if we surrender and allow Him to work in us.    

Lord, I pray that we are rooted in you.  Help us to abide in you constantly.  When the storms of life come, give us grace to stand in your hiding place.  Thank you for brothers and sisters that encourage and pray for us during hard times, for they are your hands and feet.  We thank you for the sanctification that you are doing in us, to be more like you.  You are our rock!!!
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   "The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
    they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
   planted in the house of the Lord,
    they will flourish in the courts of our God.
   They will still bear fruit in old age,
    they will stay fresh and green,
   proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
    he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”
                Pslam 92: 12-15


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