Willows and Palms (Part 2)

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4

We tend to make a bigger deal about our willow days than our palm days. We get a headache, and by 9 am, we have already called five people to tell them what a terrible day we are having. But when you wake up feeling great, do you rejoice in that? Do you praise God for your health and how good you feel? Probably not. Sometimes, the only time that God can get your attention is when you’re in trouble. Don’t forget to praise Him when you are having a palm day. Praise Him for your job, your kids, your spouse, and for having a roof over your head. Praise Him for all the victories of your day- big and small. 

Often, it is harder to stay faithful to God when you are in a time of plenty than when you are in a time of want. When you visit churches in third-world countries, the people are so hungry for God that they depend on Him each day just to survive starvation. Here in America, we have so much that we tend to forget the One who provided us with what we have. We take God’s blessings for granted.

In this life, you are guaranteed to have both good and bad days, and God wants you to praise Him in both because He will never leave you, no matter what is going on in your life. He will sit with you in your sadness, and He will celebrate with you in your triumphs. When Lazarus died, the Bible says that Jesus wept. Why would He weep even though He knew that He was about to bring Lazarus back to life? He didn’t weep for Lazarus. He wept for Mary and Martha because they were hurting, and He shared in their sadness. God’s faithfulness and love towards you never changes. He’s with you in the willow days and in the palm days. We have to learn to rejoice and find joy in both.

Revelation 7:9 paints a beautiful picture, “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man can number, of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues, were standing before the throne in Heaven before the Lamb, clothed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.” Notice what is missing: no more willow branches. In this life, we have days of both willows and palms, but when we get to Heaven, there will be no more weeping, sorrow, diseases, trials, or deaths. We will only have good and happy days as we will lay down our burdens forever.

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