Pruning Is Hard To Do

I like to plant things in my flowerbeds that require very little maintenance. My plan was to plant a couple of varieties of African daisies to finish out the look in my front beds. Their care consist of watering and pinching off the dead blooms. Not bad. However, as I praised my finished work, God raised my eyes to view the over grown nandina bushes just behind. They looked unruly and overgrown. Nandina bushes are basically maintenance free too except they require major pruning every couple of years. It was like God was reminding me this was the year. 

Reluctantly, I found the pruning shears and started to work. Of course, I wanted to give up after the second bush because my back was hurting from bending over. With each cut, I kept thinking I’ll finish this tomorrow. Yet, God was not ready for me to quit and told me to sit down, relax, and continue on. Just so you know, it was amusing scooting around on my hind parts from bush to bush and the times I had to get up...well that was pretty amusing too.

I should have known when I heard ‘sit down, relax, and continue on’ that there was more on God’s mind then just my immediate trimming need. The more I pruned the more He talked to me about the process of pruning. Now, I was pruning in the natural but He was explaining pruning in the spiritual. I finally had to get my journal and start writing. Below are the highlights of what I heard.

• If we are God’s child (accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord), then we will be pruned from time to time. Those whom He loves He corrects.

• Even though God prunes out of love and always has our best interest at heart, there will always be those who will question and blame God, refusing to change and thus never receiving the blessing of revelation and restoration that pruning provides.
  
  
• Trust God and His progress. Come humble before Him. He will turn everything to our good when we allow Him to finish His work. He is preparing us for the desires of our hearts which usually originate from Him.
  
  
• God desires more fruitfulness. Each trimmed limb often produces a double or more portion.
  
  
• Sometimes just a small snip gets our attention and realigns us but other times it’s a major undertaking. Major pruning is a step by step process. Each lesson has to be completed before advancement is allowed because each lesson is valuable. Stubbornness, willfulness, and the like will prolong the prune.
  
  
• Some of the reasons God prunes us are among the following: pride, ungodly mind-sets, undesirable attitudes and actions, unproductive dead parts, or lack of balance. The focus is to put us back on the right track again.

• Pruning does not mean we have lost your position in Him or His love. On the contrary, it is out of His love that He takes the time to refine. Then afterwards, who knows...it could bring an unexpected promotion.
  
  
• Our pruning is tailored to what is necessary at that time. And...We are not all pruned at the same time. God continually searches our hearts individually and not our deceptive outward appearance for inconsistencies.
  
  
• Hopefully because of our experiences, when we see the pruning of another, we will be compassionate, encouraging and not a gossip.
  
  
• We do not want to be 'in need of pruning' because of pride and possible embarrassment but God is not concerns about our reputation or our feelings when it comes to needed course corrections. He will comfort us doing the process but our feelings are not a deterrent. If it gets messy, He can restore anything lost when needed.
  
  
• God remains near us at all times to instruct and encourage. God always helps us clean up the repentant mess around us by taking away any sin, shame, guilt or regret. God is after the hope of glory He desires in us through expanding our faith and character.
  
  
• When God prunes us, He doesn’t look down on us in condemnation at all. He desires to reveal wisdom and solutions on a level we can understand. However, it is our responsibility to actively seek Him for the needed changes when things go south.
  
  
• Joy can be achieved throughout this process when we become grateful for/in the journey.
  
  
• When a plant is trimmed on the surface, its initial response is to go underground to develop stronger roots. In spiritual pruning, a stronger root is a teachable heart, a listening ear, time in His presence, prayer, bible study, fellowship, counsel and support from godly people to name a few.
  
  
• God’s grace is sufficient to help us find and eliminate any and all sinful roots especially the root of bitterness. Unless we intensionally root out the causes of these ungodly attitudes and actions, they will keep cropping up.
  
  
• God’s purpose in pruning is not to harm us but to guide us and give us a future and a hope by reestablishing His promises and commands then reaffirming His faithfulness to fulfill those promises and realign us in His cammands. In the end, we feel lighter and freer and we treasure the wisdom revealed because we have become more Christlikeness.

Afterwards, when I came into the bathroom to get cleaned up, I walked in front of the mirror and my T-shirt caught my eye. Rooted In Christ! That put a smile on my face. What a great ending to a great time with the Lord.

I don’t know where you are in your life today. You may be living the life of God’s joy, peace and abundance. However, if you find yourself in a season of God’s purposeful pruning, I hope this post will encourage you in your difficult season. It may not seem like it now but this too shall pass in God’s way and timing. Learn all you can and allow Him to love you through it.

John 15:2-6

Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.

The Goal Is The Fruit

This past summer, I grew a couple of tomato and pepper plants in pots because I love BLT sandwiches and fresh toppings for my mini pizzas. Plus, I really just like to be outside in nature…well…at least until it gets too hot. At that point, you will only catch me out in the early morning.

When the plants matured to the point of having flowers and producing small fruit, I felt the Holy Spirit ask me to look at the fruit on the vine more carefully. It was then that I noticed ‘the flower came before the fruit.’ Simple…but I felt there was a spiritual implication to understand. So…I asked the Holy Spirit to explain. I didn’t get the answer until this week.

I had gotten up early, when He began to show me the mental picture of the flower/tomato on the vine again. Then I heard the Holy Spirit say,

“That is where you are right now…

The bearing of the fruit.”

Let me explain.

I received Jesus as my Savior at a young age. From there, I struggled with what it meant for Jesus to be Lord over my life. Even though I was growing in the knowledge of God, I still felt so defeated all the time. I tried for years to do the right thing to earn God’s favor and respect but all the while feeling like I was a failure.

Finally, I began to understand what the grace of God really meant. In time, I also began to accept Christ’s leadership as well. The more I studied, meditated on the scriptures and witnessed His presence, the more I relaxed in His arms. Now, our relationship has taken on a whole new look. Slowly but surely, I began handing over every aspect of my life to Him…. trusting Jesus to direct my paths.

The tomato plant, root system, leaves, and finally the budding flower all represent different aspects of my growth in Christ. The developing flower symbolizes the eventual lordship of Christ over all areas of my life, each pedal, an area surrendered. The final fading of the flower represents my total surrender to develop Christlikeness in my life to the greatest measure.

The Holy Spirit’s lesson is that I now have the wisdom of maturity to allow the fruits of the spirit to ripen fully. My present goal is not only to continue allowing Jesus to be Lord over my life. I also want to go even farther to acquire His mind and personality. Then others can taste and see that God is good. (Ps. 34:8) They will be able to get a glimpse my ripening fruit as I display His love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, meekness, long suffering, faithfulness, and self-control. (Gal. 5:23) Spiritual fruit only gets sweeter as it ripens.

The scripture that keeps popping up as I type is this:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20

Where are you in your walk with Christ? Are you a new member of the family or have you been a fellow believer for a while. Wherever we are, there is always something new to learn to grasp for that will bring more confidence and freedom to your life. I challenge you to keep seeking Christ so your fruit can come to full maturity.

Christlikeness: The Real Witness

Every Christian is supposed to be a witness. So…how DO we proclaim Christ?

I am learning that witnessing has more to do with how we present Christ through our attitudes and our lifestyle choices instead of our spoken words. We have been lead to believe our words to others is the most important element in witnessing when actually it is our actions and how we deal with our daily situations. When people are able to see Christlikeness in us, the Bible says, they will be draw to Him or Him in us. Then, when we have a natural opportunity to invite those around us into the Kingdom, they will have already seen the ups and downs of how God works through a believer and be able to make a lasting decision. Life with Christ is not always easy but it is well worth the struggle. Character, blessings and joy come as we persevere all the way through. And that is what we want to world to know through the way we live.

How do we develop Christlikeness in our lives? 

First, place yourself where you can learn wisdom from Christians older in the faith then you. 

Second, regularly study the scriptures especially the life of Christ and the Apostle Paul. 

Third, discipline yourself to use what you are learning for the decision-making you do everyday. 

Last, begin by using your faith for God to supply small things. As your trust strengthens in Biblical principles, God will help your witness to increase by giving you more opportunities to trust Him in bigger situations. In this way, trust in God can grow for you personally as well as your witness to God’s faithfulness. The promises of God are true but we have to experience each truth before it becomes real to us, before it becomes ours and before we can proclaim that truth to others. I wish there was a quicker or even easier way to learn but in the end it comes down to an act of your will to grow in the things of God to better your witness for Christ.

Are there issues in your own life, which keep you from proclaiming Christ with your whole heart? What is keeping you from being intentional about learning and demonstrating more Christlikeness in all that you do? Whatever the hindrances may be, you can overcome them with God’s love, wisdom and a resolve to listen and learn more about Him.