“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon.” – Psalm 92:12, NIV

Did you know that certain trees never stops growing?  

In our meditation today, we reflect on the righteous being compared to a palm tree and a cedar of Lebanon.

These majestic ever-green trees never shed their leaves though they thrive in dry and arid regions.

Cedars grow to a great height – over 70–80 feet – and continue to grow for hundreds of years.

In the Bible, a cedar tree poetically depicts spiritual strength, durability and robustness.

As they deepen their roots and soar into the sunshine, they continue to grow daily, drawing from the atmosphere (spiritual nourishment) and from their natural environment in the ground.

This picture is a fitting description of the righteous.

“They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green” (Ps 92:14).

The Greek verb ‘auxano’ is translated ‘to grow’ or ‘to increase.’                                    

 It was this word that gave us the Latin word from which we get our English words ‘authorise’ and ‘authority.’

In short, ‘growth’ and ‘authority’ have the same root.

Only those who grow who can achieve what it takes to exercise authority.

It’s our level of growth that determines our level of authority and influence.

Our Lord Jesus was the perfect exemplar of growth.

‘Growth’ and ‘authority’ have the same root.

Only those who grow can achieve what it takes to exercise authority.

It’s our level of growth that determines our level of authority and influence.

In Luke 2:52, the Bible says; “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and people.”

The apostle Peter admonished the believers to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3:18). 

Also, he urged them to “desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby.”  

True spiritual growth in grace and knowledge of Christ occurs through consistent teaching and application of God’s Word, eventually culminating into growth in character and in good works (sanctification).

The apostle Paul commended the believers in 2 Thessalonians 1:3: “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.”

Mark the key words; ‘more and more.’

Continual growth in faith and love should characterize every Christian’s walk with Christ.

Indeed for the church in Thessalonica, growth was the inevitable result of much persecution and resistance. 

There’s no quicker way to grow our spiritual ‘muscles’ than through experiencing resistance.

When we want to grow your physical muscles in the gym, we subject them to resistance.

In fitness training, the amount of pain is directly proportional to the gains achieved.

Growth therefore thrives in environments of pressure and ‘stretching’ out of our ‘comfort zone.’

Don’t forget that the perfect measure of our growth journey is Christ, who is the Head (Ephesians 4:14-15).

Until we achieve that milestone, we must never cease to stretch for continuous improvement.

As John Maxwell puts it, “growth is not an event; it’s a process.”

For leaders, growth does not just happen; one must be intentional about it. 

In summary, the saints must never stop growing in seven things: in wisdom, in stature, in favor with God and people, in grace, in knowledge, in faith, and in love.

Prayer:

Almighty God, thank you for Jesus who is my standard. Help me not to be comfortable but to stretch until I am thriving with Your likeness. Amen!