Pruning

Face down on the floor, head in the pillow, driving to the ocean and burying my face in the sand, running until I can't go on...these are all expressions of brokenness I can recall in my mind, of times when the Lord broke me and reminded me, needfully, of my utter dependence on Him.

Throughout my life I have found myself continually being pruned by the Master Gardener. A necessary weeding. As painful as those times have been,looking back, those moments have been some of the sweetest times of intimate fellowship with my Father in heaven. The reality of my dependence on Him never changes but my awareness of that fluctuates and must be refocused. When i find myself thinking I have it all together on my own is when something terrible has gone awry. Pride comes before the fall.

So in those moments of utter brokenness, contriteness and a longing to be made new again, I have realized the powerful working of the Spirit. "For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver." (Psalm 66:10) For in a moment of total weakness I can hope because I have power from on High dwelling within me. In a moment of discouragement I have perfect encouragement from the indwelling spirit. In that time of despair I have comfort in knowing that the same spirit who lives in me is the same spirit who has given me victory over sin and the ability to say yes to righteousness. What an amazing reality!!! With brokenness comes restoration, renewal and revival.

The pruning I now see is purposeful. John 15:2 says, "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful." The plan is sovereign. The hand gardening is perfect. And from that time of pruning comes a time of fruitfullness. I can now walk more closely with the Father as I put off sin and put on holiness.

Although the pruning, the sanctification, is not an overnight process and the battle may at times feel nearly impossible, I pray that you would see those times of pruning, being broken by the Father, as the treasures they are and in turn worship, and rely on the power within because of the blood of Jesus Christ! And remember Romans 6:6 says "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." And from that comes fruit, abundant fruit.