Laying Down our Palms

"They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting: ‘Hosanna!’ ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King…’” John 12:14

Since childhood one of my favorite pictures is Jesus riding into Jerusalem with crowds of people laying down palm branches as they see His image approaching their village. They were shouting in excitement about the King finally coming! They had heard of Him, they had searched for Him and now it seemed the time had finally come for them to receive their King. What a great story…what a sweet picture…but many times pictures do not tell the whole story. What the picture doesn’t show is that as they thought He is coming to reign, He knew that was coming to die. The picture doesn't tell how long their hearts had awaited His appearance...how many nights they dreamed of His arrival...the real story of God completing what He started for humanity.

Now that I am an adult I can’t tell you how many prayer palms I have laid down in hopes of the arrival of Jesus. I can’t tell you how many times these eyes have scanned the landscape anticipating the King riding in and saving my village. I have hung on to those palms for dear life, because I don’t want to miss the moment that He appears, that He rescues, that He saves. On that beautiful day when the sun is bright, and the horizon is clear I will suddenly see an image. I will realize that with Him comes the fulfillment of promises He gave me long ago. I will shout ‘Blessed is He who comes…Blessed is the King!’

We all have prayer palms that we lay down in anticipation of Jesus being King. We pray desperately for Him to be King over our illness, removing it. We pray for Him to King over our unemployment, providing a job for us. We pray for Him to be King over our deep desires, fulfilling them. I’m so thankful that God keeps every one of His promises, and we can bank on the faithful fact that He is who He says He is, and He will do what He says He will do.

Don’t take your eyes off the horizon because your King is coming! There is a perfect day coming for you and for me when everything God has started in our lives will come to a beautiful fulfillment.  Blessed is the King!

“…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil 1:6