Key Scripture: But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house. They flourish in the courts of God. Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green. They will declare “The Lord is just! He is my rock! There is no evil in Him!” Psalm 92:12-15

The Word tells us, in Psalm 92, “the righteous will flourish like a palm tree” and that the righteous will still bear fruit, even in old age. The word flourish means to grow and develop in a healthy or vigorous way, to succeed or prosper, and a period of thriving.

Did you see that? God doesn’t just want us to grow, He wants us to thrive! However, just because God wants us to flourish doesn’t mean that we will automatically do so. We must make the decision to grow, thrive, and flourish especially in the times that are difficult and heavy - when we feel like there is little to no fruit being produced. (God refers to our character as fruit. A person's character will dictate their words and actions.)

In order to flourish, we must make the decision to seek God first, above all else in our lives (Matthew 6:33). Flourishing looks like a relationship with Jesus. John 15:5 says that He is the vine and we are the branches and that we must remain in Him to bear fruit. To remain in Him is to have a relationship. When we have this relationship with Jesus, He calls us righteous and the righteous person is like a tree planted by streams of water and will flourish-they will prosper in whatever they do (Psalm 1:3).

Planting ourselves in God’s presence requires spending time with Him. When we stay planted in His presence, we learn more about Him and ourselves. We begin to see ourselves the way God sees us. We find our identity. We find our freedom from captivity. We overcome any anxiety or uncertainty we face. We begin to trust God more and in turn, we are able to flourish in all we do.