Mensa Otabil - You Will Flourish (10/31/2025)
We’ve been looking at Psalm 1, but we’ll shift gears a bit and look at Psalm 92. As we examine verse 12 of Psalm 92, it says, «The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.» The righteous here refers to people in a right relationship with God. It doesn’t mean people who are sinless, perfect, or never do anything wrong, but rather those whose trust is in the Lord, people who have Christ in their hearts as Lord and Savior, and individuals who have a connection with God. So, that is what «the righteous» means.
The passage states that those who have this relationship with God-who are connected with Him, who have Christ living in their hearts, and who are committed to living the Christian life- shall flourish. They shall flourish, and that’s a very important statement that God will cause you to flourish. In other words, you will blossom, you will flower, and you will bear fruit. It uses two trees to illustrate what happens to the righteous. The first is the palm tree. The palm tree is a very durable tree; it’s not fanciful. It doesn’t have nice flowers, but it produces real quality results, and every part of the palm is useful.
When the Bible describes the righteous as the palm tree, it means that your life will be durable, your life will flourish, and you will do well-not just superficially, but in a stable, strong, and real way. There are people who talk about fruitfulness, but their fruitfulness lacks substance; it’s just a mirage. It’s something they talk about but never manifest. God wants you to have fruitfulness that is real, substantial, and substantive. So, that is the palm tree: you shall flourish like the palm tree-not just with flowers but with genuine results in your life.
The second tree used in the passage is the cedar. The cedar tree is typically used for its fragrance; it has a beautiful scent and is also used for building. The cedar tree is not like the palm tree; it produces things in a different way. You don’t often use it much for furniture, although parts of it can be used for that purpose. The cedar tree itself is the fruit; its fragrance smells nice, and it is used for strong construction.
God says when you are righteous, you will produce things, but not only will you produce things, but you yourself will also be a blessing. There are times when we produce things, and those things can be a blessing, but we ourselves are not a blessing; we are not a fragrance. The cedar tree speaks to influence and impact. Not only will you produce things, but you yourself will also be influential and impactful. What God does through you-with your gifts, talents, and abilities — impacts the world. Yet, while you are impacting the world and people are enjoying your fruit, you must also be a blessing as a person in your home, in your life, and in all that you do. God will make you influential and impactful.
So, the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. May the Lord help you produce fruit, and may He make you a blessing, influential, and impactful in Jesus' name. Let’s share a word of prayer together. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, help me to flourish wherever you plant me. Enable me to grow and become a blessing to others. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.»