He knows exactly what He is doing in this season of my life, as He has in every other. He is transforming and shaping me to reflect the image of Jesus. And He is pruning me... not because He is angry or displeased, but because He sees potential and knows how to maximize it!!
...and the pruning process sucks! Every Christian has to go through it, and no one can save us from the pain. It feels like you're losing a part of yourself, because that's exactly what is happening. It feels like it's going to kill you, because that's the point. God wants us dead to self and alive through Him. I've gone through this full process before, and will be the first to say, it HURTS. And when it's over, you feel intense pain and confusion, and you look ridiculous and small and weak. For a while...
But God has a purpose in it all. He knows when the timing is right, and He begins by cutting off all that is dead. Cutting off every person or habit or selfish ambition that is sucking the life from us and sucking our focus away from Him. He really gets in there and cuts them off at the root so they will have no chance of growing back! He removes the distraction and clutter from our hearts, and opens them up where they have been closed off and guarded... allowing us more rest and freedom, and helping us to see Him more clearly. He removes what is weak and leaves only what is strong and healthy in us, and by doing this, He positions us for abundant growth in the future! He redirects our motives from being focused inwardly to being focused outwardly on serving others. When He is finished with the harsh pruning process, He cleans up the mess, and He makes sure that what is left is healthy and uninfected. He then seals us for our protection and to block off enemy attacks.
And when "the spring" comes, there is real and healthy growth. We are more beautiful and perfectly shaped, and are bearing more and richer fruit than ever before.
The thing is, this is a continual process. Any gardener knows that. A major part of me wishes that was not the case. But I already feel it coming on - that I am being "pruned" again. Hopefully I won't freak out to the extent I did last time. I will do my best to trust Him and just stay close to "the Vine." To remember that this is not a spiritual attack or a punishment. It is the hand of God removing all that no longer bears fruit, and positioning me for growth in the future!
This next part comes from a website about rose pruning... word for word. I found it utterly fascinating! God is awesome.
When:
Prune when dormant between mid-December and early February.
How:
• Remove dead stuff.
• Cut off suckers. Suckers are vigorous shoots that sprout from below the graft. These are a different kind of rose and will overgrow the desirable top part of the plant. If they are coming from below ground, dig the soil away a bit so you can cut them off from the root or stem.
• Open the center. To open the center we take out crossing branches, twiggy stuff– anything cluttering the inside of the bush. The purpose is to allow more light and air into the bush, reducing diseases.
• Remove all except 4 - 6 canes (strong stems or branches.)
• Cut these back about by half, more or less. How far you cut these back will determine the size and abundance of your spring bloom.
• Cut to a bud pointing outside, about 1/4" above the bud. The bud will grow in the direction that it is pointed. To enhance that open growth habit (again, to reduce leaf diseases), look for one pointing outwards.
• Remove and rake up remaining leaves. Pick off all the remaining leaves if you have the patience and rake up the ones on the ground. That cleanup helps a great deal in reducing reinfection in the spring.
• Apply dormant spray. (optional) Spraying the bushes with a fungicide containing copper or sulfur creates a barrier on the stems and new growth which blocks the reinfecting spores. Helpful, but not essential.
• Dab light colored sealer (Elmer's Glue!) on end of each cane. (optional) Sometimes you find hollow canes that appear to have died back. These are inhabited by cane-nesting wasps or carpenter bees. So daubing on some light-colored sealant can block their entry.
"It is time for us to be real ambassadors of Jesus Christ. Get in the furnace and stay there until you're well done... and then get out. Ask God to prune you! Ask God to deal with you! Because we are nothing without God. Nothing without God, amen. Our God is an awesome God. And we are not going to shut up, and we are not going to evaporate, and we are not going to disappear. And we are not going to compromise and just float downstream with everybody else. It's not too late for the body of Christ to rise up. Let's give the people who think they don't want God in their lives something to want. Let them see what love is. Let them see what joy is. Let them see what peace is. Let them see what it's like to be an active, on fire, stirred up, passionate believer in Jesus Christ! Our God reigns. Our God reigns!"
~Joyce Meyer
