Pruning to fruitfulness!
Verse for Today: Thursday, September 29, 2011
John 15:2 – He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
It is comforting to know that God’s children are branches which are budded on to the Lord Jesus Christ who is the true vine. If we abide in Him and deeply imbibing His sap, we will grow in Him and produce the kind of fruit that is seen in Jesus. This is how the world around us will know whether we truly abide in the Lord or not. If we bear such fruit, God wants us to bear much more fruit. We are filled with His Spirit and His Word so that we will bear more fruit. The branches which bear much fruit are pruned so that we will bear more fruit. Pruning is a painful experience because it involves cutting away all the excess leaves which take away the sap which has to become fruit. Leaves show forth the glory of the tree, but leaves alone are not enough for purposefulness for a tree. So the Master Gardner wants to remove those parts of the branches which will result in more flowers and then on to more fruit. A pruned branch gives way to newer buds growing on a branch. Unless a branch is willing to bear the pain of pruning, it cannot end up in producing more fruit. Such painful experiences include sickness, loss, loneliness, persecution, rejection and the like. God allows such painful experiences in our lives so that we will learn patience and maturity. We will then draw closer to the Lord in prayerful dependence and humility which are the characteristics of the Lord Jesus. We will love all that the Lord loves and hate all that He hates. Our lives will be full of the fruit of the Spirit which will be demonstrated through our practical lives. Our attitude, actions and spoken word will then be controlled by the Spirit and will be found tasty by those who link up with us. We will then live above circumstances. We will not be controlled by events around us, but by our faith in the Lord.
Dear reader, if you are experiencing pain and discomfort in your life, it might be because your Lord is pruning you so that you might bear much more fruit. Your fruitfulness will make you praise God for all that goes on in your life rather than grumble. You will be under the control of the Spirit and will respond to pain in your life with patience, maturity and the joy of the Lord. You will then be able to say that it was good that you had gone through sufferings. Sufferings will make you stronger in the Lord and develop greater faith and trust in Him. At the same time, you should understand that the hands which do the pruning are the loving hands of your Heavenly Father. He has compassion on you and will not cut you beyond your capacity to bear it. When He cuts you in the pruning process, He will also give you the grace to go through it. He tells you today as He told Paul that His grace is sufficient for all your circumstance and needs. This grace was experienced by Paul, Peter, James and John in different measure at different times. The same grace was enjoyed by Joseph, Daniel, Jeremiah and David when they went through sufferings of various kinds. Job experienced the most intensive pain that any branch of the vine has gone through, but it made him greatly appreciate the love of God and grow in deeper knowledge of Him. So dear reader, if you are going through pruning, take it with His grace and patience because it comes to you from your loving Heavenly Father who has planned it for your spiritual growth, maturity and fruitfulness. Today you have the opportunity to thank the Lord for the valleys and the tears that He has brought you through and exhibit Christ-likeness in every aspect of your life.
2 Corinthians 1:5 – For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
Thought for Today
Fruitfulness helps us to forget the pain of pruning.
Fruitfulness helps us to forget the pain of pruning.
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