When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt shortly before His death, the people mobbed Him, throwing their cloaks before Him and waving palm branches. They cried out, “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!” (John 12:13). That first Palm Sunday was quite a victory Sunday because the people celebrated Jesus and acknowledged Him as their king! Some time ago, when I was meditating on this passage, I wondered, Of all the plants, why did they use palms? What was so significant about palm branches? That’s when the Holy Spirit directed me to the Old Testament.

Palms and Willows

After the Israelites left Egypt, God gave them seven feasts to celebrate Him, His work, and what He would do in them and through them. One of these feasts was the Feast of Tabernacles, which they celebrated by constructing booths made of palm and willow branches. For seven days they lived in the booths, commemorating what the Lord had done for them.

You shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. Leviticus 23:40

God specifically told the Israelites to use palms and willows to build these booths. Palm trees were very important to that culture. They were a source of food and drink, the leaves were used to make ropes, and the trunk was used to make furniture. Palms eventually came to represent victory for the Israelites, so when God told them to use palm branches to make the booths, He was reminding them of their victories.

Willow branches are also mentioned specifically in the passage above. Here in American, we call them “weeping willows.” The willows had to do with the heartaches the Israelites experienced in the wilderness. The wilderness wasn’t a picnic. At one time, the earth opened up and swallowed up Korah and 250 men who were in rebellion. Mirian and her brother criticized Moses and she immediately got leprosy. The Israelites turned to idolatry, caused innumerable headaches for Moses, and had loads of problems. So, the willows were used on the booths to remind them of all the hardships they endured before they inherited the promised land.

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, he knew it was a time of victory. He also knew that between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, He would die on the cross. There would be a willow—a time of heartache. In our lives, we experience some wonderful victories, but we also have willows. Yet, if we will bring our willows to the Lord, He can transform them into victories. When you hit those willow times, don’t hold onto them; hand them over to God and watch them become palm branches.

One of the members of my prayer team once told me about a true transformation that had occurred in her life. For most of her life she had been an alcoholic. One day, 18 years before, she was in a bar telling another alcoholic all her problems. The other woman responded by telling her about Job, saying, “Well, if you think things are so bad, why don’t you read the book of Job in the Bible. You’ll find out you don’t have it so bad.” This woman did just that. She went home, found a Bible, and began reading it. The Lord began to deal with her out of that book and she got saved! When she turned her life over to the Lord, He took her willows and transformed them into palms. That bar—her alcoholism—became the turning point of victory in her life.

As this woman discovered, Job holds a crucial key for allowing God to turn willows into palms. Job lost everything, but did you notice the devil spared his wife? Why? Because his wife could keep needling him and giving him a hard time. The devil was using her to get to Job. Rather than listen to his wife’s admonition to “curse God and die,” Job turned everything over to God and put his afflictions into the hands of the Lord: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him” (Job 13:15).

Later, Job went on to give the first prophecy related to the resurrection:

For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God. (Job 19:25-26)

Job believed in his “willow time” that he would be victorious and there would be a resurrection. Job had an inner revelation of the Redeemer who would appear and bring resurrection. Likewise, when we talk about resurrection, we have an inner revelation that Jesus not only died for us, but that He lives. What a victory!

We all experience willow times. But whether they shatter you or lead you to victory depends on whose hand you put them into. If you keep them in your hands, they won’t change. But if you put them in God’s hands, He can bring transformation.

Remember too, that Scripture tells us, “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). In the natural it’s difficult to understand just how this work. But when you become a child of God, you have an inner revelation that He loves you so much, that if you will put your circumstances in His hands, He can cause you to triumph.

The Ultimate Victory

I think a lot of folks believe that getting older is a “willow.” Things don’t button the way they used to, there’s too much hair left behind in their brushes, and there are too many wrinkles staring back at them in the mirror. That’s because they’re corruptible. But there’s a palm coming! Look at what Paul said: “So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption” (1 Corinthians 15:42). What are we raised in? Incorruption! We know by the Spirit that we don’t just have a life here; we’re going to live in a new body that doesn’t decay, get old, lose hair, or wrinkle.

In subsequent verses, Paul also tells us that death is a dishonor; it’s a willow. Then he says believers will be raised in glory. When Jesus died, that was a dishonor. But when He was raised, it brought glory to the Father. He’s the first fruit of resurrection and we’re going to follow him! Paul continues to compare mortality and immortality and arrives at this conclusion:

“O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?”

 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)

Eternal life will be wonderful! There is no sting of death for believers because Jesus has already borne the penalty of the law for our sins. When we claim Him, we can claim His resurrection and know that we will spend eternity in heaven with Him. Just imagine it: forever in His presence, rejoicing in the victory that He bought for us, and celebrating Jesus by waving palm branches:

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands. (Revelation 7:9, emphasis added)

We’re not going to carry willows in heaven because God will wipe away every tear. Rather, we will carry palm branches because we’re not defeated—we were made victorious in Christ!

You might have a willow in your life right now that hurts and causes you great pain. Maybe it’s a broken marriage, prodigal children, or an unsaved loved one. Perhaps you need healing in your body or finances. Take those cares and place them into the hand of Jesus and allow Him to turn those willows into palms of victory. Pray with me:

Father, thank you that Jesus is the victory. I take all these willows and the heartache and weeping they represent and place them in your hands. I believe that you will transform them into palm branches of victory in each circumstance. In Jesus’s name I pray, amen.

If you’d like additional prayer, call 888-637-4545, or visit https://marilynandsarah.netviewshop.com/prayer.