The Cry of a Heart // Psalm 92
“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre. For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
How great are your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep! The stupid man cannot know; the fool cannot understand this: that though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever; but you, O Lord, are on high forever. For behold, your enemies, O Lord, for behold, your enemies shall perish; all evildoers shall be scattered.
But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; you have poured over me fresh oil. My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies; my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.
The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”
Palm trees are one of the few trees that can grow in the desert; in fact, they not only grow but they flourish in the dry condition. Their roots dig deep to find a water source that can sustain them when the conditions are rough.
Cedar trees in Lebanon can grow up to 130 feet tall-- the height of the Christ the Redeemer Statue.
Both are incredibly strong. The palm tree is the only tree that will break anything that tries to bind it. The cedar is incredibly resilient to insects and its wood is often used for building structures and ships.
Psalm 92 describes the righteous and those who plant themselves in the house of God as people who will flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar. These people are strong, resilient, bear fruit in old age, and above all, find a source that will sustain them.
Their source is God.
The key to flourishing and growing strong lies in where we plant our roots. Some plant their roots in work, in financial security, or in relationships. But the wise plant them in the House of God. They plant them in a relationship with God, intimacy with Christ, reliability in the Holy Spirit, and in community with the body of Christ.
Are you feeling tapped out? Like a withering plant in the desert--parched and weak? Where are your roots drawing strength from? If an honest examination proves to be anything outside of the four sources above, then pick up those shallow roots and plant them deep in the eternal source.
People planted deep know to praise God in the good and the bad; the easy and the hard. It's resilience. Those who don't plant deep wither away like the grass.
What kind of person do you want to be today? What kind of roots are you planting and where?
