Like a Tree...

This morning, Pastor Nate said that though the storms will come and the wind will blow, we will still be standing. He said that God created us to be able to not only survive the storms but to flourish in them.

A verse he used that really struck me was:
"The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon"
Psalm 92:12

He had done some research on the palm tree to figure out why in the world God would compare His people to a palm tree. It was an amazing story really!! Palm trees have a HUGE root system that can reach out as far as 35 feet from the trunk of the tree. What does that mean??? Well when a hurricane comes, the biggest storm around, it can blow and blow and blow, and a palm tree is so grounded it cannot be moved. It can be flexible and bend in any direction, but never break.


Well he didn't really talk about the second half of the verse. So I decided that if God very purposely choose the palm, the cedar must be important too. I had to find out why. It was sort of funny actually, as I was driving home from church thinking about it, I thought to myself....how did God know the palm would survive all those storms??? DUH!!! HE made the trees knucklehead!

Anyways....so I decided that once I got home I would do some research online about the cedars of Lebanon. I like having something to look up...it gets me into the word like I should be. But for me it gives me a purpose to look and come out the other side with some real answers.

The cedars are the opposite of the palms....they can get big on top. It said online that they can have a huge out shooting of branches. That if this tree is in a large group of trees, it will grow very tall and straight and slender. But if it is by itself, it will grow large reaching branches, that create a huge umbrella of limbs. I thought about this for a long time...here's how I decided to take this. You don't have to be part of a huge group to have strength, as long as you have the Lord on your side. Your testimony can reach out so far all on its own. I'm not saying its not important to be a part of something, because if we are strong alone, how much more can we do together. BUT...you have to have your own strength through God. In the reading I did, it said the cedars of Lebanon were so strong they were used to built huge buildings, including the palace of King Solomon and David.

Simply said, sometimes I have to be reminded that I am strong in the Lord and in the power of His might!! And so are you!!