I don’t have a green thumb, but I know gardening takes care and attention. You need to understand your plants and give them what they need: light, water, and nutrients. God knows what we need to grow, but we often resist. I recall when I was a young Christian, God urging me to let go of a bad habit, but I clung to it out of fear. Instead of trusting Him, I distracted myself and avoided His gentle correction. We shrink spiritually when we resist change or pruning.
Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit,” (John 15:1-2). God removes what isn’t good in our lives and prunes what needs correction. We may run from His mercy, but He waits for us. The process is hard and ongoing, but even in darkness and trials, we can trust He has a purpose. Some struggles are brief, others lifelong. God works to remove even deep-rooted idols.
It is essential to clearly grasp both the character of our relationship with God and the specific purpose for which we exist. A deeper understanding of this relationship provides direction for how we are to live, guiding us to fulfill our intended role as individuals who are called to bear spiritual fruit. Jesus said, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing,” (John 15:4-5). Our calling is to bear fruit. Challenges may seem overwhelming, but God is often preparing for a harvest as he prunes us. The hardest pruning is often when God works most deeply.
The fruit of our relationship with God is seen in our love for others. I once struggled to forgive someone, but when I prayed for them as God prompted, bitterness turned into joy. Jesus said “As the father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love” (John 15:9-10).
I was listening to the song Tend by Bethel Music, that addressed this theme well.
"In the landscape of my life, you don’t rush through any season.
You always take your time A careful hand, a gentle guide
You take what’s dead away And You prune what’s running wild
So be the gardener of my heart, Tend the soil of my soul,
Break up the fallow ground Cut back the overgrown..;
I will let the branches fall…And I will trust Your timing,
I’ll remain in You, You’ll remain in me
From the start until the ending ‘Cause You know better"
Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11). Joy comes not from clinging to what we think makes our lives work, but by surrendering our lives to the Gardener. True joy grows as we let him prune what needs to go. Though it may feel counterintuitive, this is how joy grows. What is God gently asking you to cut out of your life or to prune?
