pruning Archives - Daily Thoughts about God

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15:1-2

For me, gardening is an exercise in trust.

I drop tiny seeds into ground, believing that most of them will sprout and grow into ample food for my family and myself.

In faith, I thin out my rows of seedlings, pulling out perfectly healthy plants to make room for others to grow, confident that this will actually give me a better yield.

One of the more difficult parts about gardening is pruning. I find myself second-guessing how much of a branch to cut off, or if I really need to get rid of all but a couple of raspberry canes.
It seems counter-intuitive that less branches would equal more fruit.

In the same way, God takes His clippers to me, His branch. He doesn’t hold back; He prunes away all of the unfruitful parts of my life.

Any desire that would take glory away from Him is snipped off. Any plan that feeds my ego rather than a Christ-like spirit is stripped away.

He would rather that I would be a spindly stalk that produces fruit than a lush bush covered with leaves that produces nothing of value. And when I really think about it, so would I.

God, help me to accept the pruning You do in my life, and trust that You know what is best for me. As You prune, may Your Spirit work in my life to make me more like the true vine, Jesus Christ. Amen.

By Caran Jantzen
Used by Permission

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“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15:1-2

Have you ever walked through a vineyard? In John chapter 15, Jesus’ words to His disciples about enduring fruit reveal that He had clearly passed through many vineyards while paying close attention. He had no doubt observed a caretaker faithfully preparing the grape vines for harvest: tenderly and thoroughly examining each vine and its branches to ensure maximum yield for the growing season and for many seasons to come.

Jesus uses the metaphor of the vineyard to emphasize, among other things, the necessity of the Father tenderly trimming fruitful branches so they can produce even greater yield. The Father’s shears separate the unproductive branches from the vine, enabling the remaining branches to flourish.

What do you need pruned from your life to become more fruitful? Pruning can be painful and perplexing, but every believer, regardless of call or creed, and as long as he or she remain organically connected to the true vine, is commissioned and pruned to bear eternal fruit — fruit that glorifies the Lord of the harvest. Would you consider yourself a fruitful believer? If your answer is yes, then ask the Lord to tenderly and thoroughly trim your life and empower you to thrive and flourish as you faithfully abide in Him. If your answer is no, then choose to make Jesus the center of your life once again.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your enduring love. Help me to discern and to surrender to the daily pruning process so that I can faithfully and effectively bear fruit for Your kingdom. Empower me for maximum yield in the harvest fields of my sphere of influence. Amen.

By Allan Mitchell
Used by permission