Faith That Flourishes Like The Palm Tree

Palm tree on a white sandy beach on a sunny day — Palm trees thrive in hot, sandy, salty conditions [Picture courtesy of Pixabay]

What tree do people most easily identify? The distinctive palm tree with its fan-shaped fronds has to be a front-runner. Palms thrive in hot climates, making them a symbol of a tropical paradise. Although believers may not live in a tropical paradise, they can flourish like a palm tree with a firmly-rooted faith life.

What’s A Palm Tree?

Palm trees are evergreens with thick stems and arching fronds. These trees thrive in sandy soil with a climate characterized by hot and wet summers. This requirement means palm trees are generally native to tropical or subtropical climates.

Over 2,600 species of palms exist. Well-known types of the tree include the date palm and the coconut palm. Differences in the trunk’s shape and the shape of the fronds enable one species to be distinguished from another.

Date palm trees commonly appear in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries. At least twelve native palm species grow in the US, mostly in the Deep South and Florida. South Carolina’s nickname, the Palmetto State, derives from its official state tree, the sabal palmetto, seen there in abundance.

Use of Palms Today

One of the most widely planted trees, palms are desired for ornamental use and are a go-to landscaping item in coastal areas. They serve to majestically line avenues as well as to enhance yards and gardens. Palms grow quickly and provide not only a tropical look, but offer privacy, wind, and sound screening.

View down a street with palm trees lining both sides — Trees line a street in Hollywood, California [Picture courtesy of Pixabay]

In addition to looking good, palms hold great economic importance. This plant family supplies food for the human diet (such as coconut products and dates) and for other human uses such rattan cane, palm wood, and raffia. And the sight of a swaying palm surely entices tourists to visit tropical areas where the palm grows.

Palms in History

Since the beginning of civilization man has used palm trees. Mesopotamia, for example, cultivated date palms as a food source to produce fruit. As the name of the tree implies, dates were the desired product.

View looking up at palm tree with handing date fruit — Date palm trees have been cultivated throughout history for their fruit [Picture courtesy Pixabay]

In the past, palms symbolized victory, peace, and fertility. The victors in Greek athletic competitions often received a palm branch to celebrate their victory. People met and celebrated kings and conquerors by waving palm branches. During Roman times, in particular, a palm branch stood for triumph and victory.

Palms in the Bible

The Bible contains over thirty references to palms, and the first reference appears early on in Exodus 15:27. While fleeing Egypt, the Israelites found respite and sustenance at Elam which offered springs of water and seventy date palm trees.

Palms are a part of the familiar Bible story about Jericho. Deuteronomy 34:3 refers to the location as “the city of palms,” the literal meaning of the word.

The Feast of Tabernacles utilized branches from a palm tree. During this religious festival, the Israelites fashioned a sukkah, a temporary dwelling covered with plant material such as palm fronds. Meals would be eaten in this dwelling to commemorate the Israelites’ forty-year journey in the wilderness to the Promised Land.

The graceful palm tree was a positive image in the Bible. Craftsmen carved depictions of palm trees into the walls and doors of Solomon’s majestic temple.1 Kings 6:29,33. And a maiden’s beautiful posture brought comparison to the tree in Song of Solomon 7:7.

Palm trees also appear in biblical stories about Jesus. People waving palm branches greeted Him as He entered Jerusalem. John 12:13. In the future, Jesus will stand before a white-clothed multitude with palm branches in their hands according to Revelation 7:9.

Picture of palm branch with "Palm Sunday" written above — Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus being greeted by the waving of palm branches as He entered Jerusalem [Picture courtesy of Pixabay]

Believers And Palm Trees

Christians may opt to use palm tree products, landscape with the trees, or visit places where such trees grow. But the most-coveted connection with a palm is living like one. Psalm 92:12 states the righteous will flourish like the palm tree. How wonderful to be like a hardy, thriving plant that symbolizes victory and triumph! But the catch is being in the right location. Palm trees flourish when they are in the place God designed and equipped them for. Staying rooted in the right place, in God, is key for believers to flourish like a palm tree.