Throughout the growing season, plants need to be pruned to make room for better growth. The gardener carefully snips the dead blooms off and removes any dried leaves. With some water, sunshine, and tender hands, a garden becomes one of beauty for our eyes to see and for small creatures to drink from as they become refreshed by the dew of the morning.
Your faith is like a garden with God being the Gardener. For you to grow and mature, God must tend to you. You have a lot of dead blooms and dried leaves that get in the way of you blooming for His glory. You must let God work in you. You must give him the pruning shears and allow Him to remove what He needs to remove so you can become fit for His Kingdom.
It’s a painful process, to have things cut away. It’s a humbling one too. Often times, your flesh convinces itself that God’s pruning shears are not necessary. You believe you are doing the right things and God is happy with you. While He is pleased in your belief that He is real and you understand that you sin and you need Jesus, there is many pruning seasons Jesus will put you through so you will learn to trust His Father.
Think about this quote. It helps to understand the reason for the pruning shears. It is by Jen Wilkin, “We will not wake up 10 years from now and find that we have passively taken on the character of God.”
God’s pruning shears are needed for Kingdom living. Not one person will automatically trust God to follow Jesus and walk in obedience to the Spirit. There has to be a surrendering of your flesh to the work of the Gardener’s tender hands. There has to be a letting go of “trying” to become a better Christian, spouse, or parent.
When the pruning shears are given access, God begins the greatest transformation process. You go from a seed in the soil to a beautiful marigold or begonia. The only way for a seed to become a blooming flower is for God’s hand to be on it. The only way for your faith to bloom is you need God to tend to you.
You cannot muster up God’s beauty without His love and care. You can’t love and serve other believers without His hand upon you. You cannot love your spouse, husbands won’t rise up to be the spiritual head without a surrendered spirit, nor can a wife respect without the hand of God upon her. You cannot raise godly children when you are not mature yourself.
In this Christmas season, where does God need to prune you? What a better gift to give Jesus, your spouse, and your children, than a surrendered spirit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Jesus came in person to become the Savior of the world. Don’t stop here, like many do. You must also see Jesus on the cross. Because He did not stay dead, you have full access to all that belongs to the Trinity. God makes you a part of His family when you repent of your sins and choose to follow Christ!
Be very aware, your flesh will keep you from allowing God to do any pruning. This is disobedience, and it shows you don’t trust God and you are not interested in His love.
May you give God permission to snip away and give Him the opportunity to fill you with new things, better things that will fulfill your life. You will find that it is His very presence that you were needing.
Carol J German 